The expansion of Kathmandu’s ring road has left commuters choking on dust and caught in hour-long traffic jams. Groups opposed to the road expansion also claim it is threatening the city’s cultural heritage. ‘[Road expansion] is displacing the indigenous Newar people from their own land. Lots of heritage sites will be affected … Kathmandu needs to be preserved,’ says Suraj Maharjan of the Save Nepa Valley campaign

Bhai Kaji Tiwari, development commissioner of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority dismissed the concerns of anti-road expansion groups, saying: ‘[Opponents of the road expansion] are angry now, but afterwards they will enjoy it. It will be good for business and the environment will be better’

The widening of Kathmandu’s ring road is at the heart of the programme and is seen as a driver for economic development. The government is now planning to build an outer ring road

Rambika Thapa Magar stands outside her one room home on the edge of Kathmandu’s ring road. The expanded road is due to cut through the middle of the house. “We have been told to evacuate. The demolition could started at any time, maybe while we are sleeping. We have nowhere else to go,” said Rambika

The construction of the city’s first underpass at Kalanki is both a source of pride and frustration. Vehicles can wait for an hour to pass through the junction

Tired of waiting for their bus to pass through the Kalanki junction, commuters decide to walk

Shova Regmi spends four hours a day commuting to and from work. ‘It’s very difficult now. My health is bad. It’s like I’m suffocating. It creates a lot of stress, but it will be better in the future’

“There’s too much dust. When I spit, it comes out black. There is no disabled access anywhere. Our leaders talk about disabled access, but there is no access even in Singha Durbar [a complex of government ministries],” says Govinda Khanal, a former teacher

People in Kathmandu joke that the face mask has now become part of the national dress – an indispensable accessory in an effort to protect themselves from the dust. Nepal has the worst air quality in the world, according to theEnvironmental Performance Index

Kathmandu’s chaotic electrical wiring has further hampered road expansion. As roads have been widened the electricity poles have also had to be moved, but a lack of co-ordination between the roads and electricity departments has held up progress

As sections of the ring road have been completed, police have warned of a new danger: speeding drivers. The sign in the bottom left corner reads, “Accident record in the last six months: 73 injured. 3 dead.”