“A place that holds comfort, nostalgia, friendship, and community can also be a source of air pollution.”
Memories covered in Smoke
The rich aroma of food hits you way before you even reach the place. The smell of sizzling barbecued pork, the sharp whistle of pressure-cooker coffee, visuals of fried stick food options and the vibrant energy of the crowd fills the evening air of Traffic-chowk. For many residents of Butwal, this small bunch of roadside food stalls is a meeting place, an adventure for food hunting, a comfort zone, and a big part of the city's identity. Yet, amidst all these vibrant memories, there lies an overlooked reality.
Behind every sizzling barbeque stand, there is a vendor spending hours breathing in the thick smoke from charcoal fires, grills, and cooking equipment.
The same smoke that makes you crave those street food at food trucks and stalls also looms over the people preparing the food.
As clouds of smoke rise from these stalls, vendors stand just a few feet away, inhaling it hour after hour, accumulating its effect day by day. Traffic-chowk represents a big part of Butwal's food and social culture.
As the city's night culture continues to grow, finding cleaner cooking solutions is necessary to preserve the culture of Traffic-chowk and the health of those who keep it alive.
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@panthipurnima
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