Kathmandu 60th in UN city prosperity ranking

Kathmandu has been ranked 60th among 95 cities across the world identified by the United Nations as those moving towards prosperity, a recently released UN report states.

‘State of the World’s Cities’ report by the UN Habitat analyses the prosperity of the cities on various counts like productivity, quality of life, infrastructure, environment and equity and on all these five categories, the Nepali capital is rated just above Dhaka and Kampala. New Delhi has been ranked two places above Kathmandu.

Austrian capital Vienna tops the list of 95 cities, followed by New York, Toronto, London and Stockholm.

Talking about Kathmandu, the report cites an example of the Vishnumati River. "Relentless urban sprawl of the Kathmandu Valley... The Vishnumati River is surrounded by suburbs which have sprung up in recent years. With few building regulations, the city keeps on growing, as many look for a better life in the city than in the countryside. The result is environmental chaos with severe noise, air and water pollution problems." nepalnews.com