Nepal, May 3 -- A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal danced on stage in Pokhara after declaring the lake city Nepal's "tourism capital". Just a few weeks later, the country's most popular tourist destination is not just uninviting but also uninhabitable. The road link to Pokhara along the Siddharth Highway is full of dust emanating from the under-reconstruction road, the sky above the city is filled with smoke from wildfire, and the inner city is shrouded by a thick pall of carbon monoxide emanating from the exhaust pipes of public vehicles and trucks. As per a report published in onlinekhabar.com, 30 out of 35 public vehicles undergoing pollution tests there on Wednesday failed.

The federal capital, Kathmandu, fares no bet...