Nepal, April 1 -- Every monsoon, roads in Teku, Balkhu, Tripureshwor and Anamnagar turn into temporary canals after a short but intense rainfall. Traffic stalls, drains overflow, and residents wander through waterlogged pavements. While heavy rain is often blamed, Kathmandu's recurring floods are increasingly the result of a series of interconnected problems: Decades of urban expansion, floodplain encroachment and neglected drainage systems. The floods that paralyse the city each monsoon are no longer merely natural events, but rather they are rampantly man-made.

Kathmandu's geography

Kathmandu lies in a bowl-shaped basin, surrounded by hills. Rain naturally flows down towards the Bagmati, Bishnumati, Hanumante and Dhobikhola Rivers. In...