PM for policy to discourage personal vehicles
KATHMANDU, OCT 17 -
Given the high use of private vehicles on valley roads that is creating serious traffic congestion problems, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Sunday emphasised on the need for devising a policy that discourages owning personal vehicles.
“The resources and infrastructures available cannot bear the rising number of vehicles in the valley,” he said addressing a meeting on traffic management and road improvement here on Sunday. “The trend of people’s unwillingness to travel in public vehicles is being developed,” said PM Bhattarai. “Such a mentality must be removed,” he said.
Following increased complaints about traffic congestions, accidents and arbitrary charging of public transport fares, Bhattarai, who also looks after the Ministry for Labour and Transport Management, has taken transport related issues seriously of late. The government is also preparing to come up with a new National Transport Policy soon with a view to better manage the transport sector.
Bhattarai said since construction of roads is not taking place in line with the increasing number of vehicles, priority should be given to alternative roads and construction of roads on either side of rivers. He suggested the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Department of Transport Management, Metropolitan Traffic Police and other agencies concerned to work on this front in a coordinated manner.
Kathmandu Valley is the most crowded city of the country in terms of operation of vehicles. According to the Department of Transport Management, the government has so far registered a total of 570,145 units of vehicles in the Bagmati Zone, including 53,960 bikes and around 6,000 vehicles under car/jeep/van category, in the last fiscal year.
At the meeting, PM Bhattarai directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to conduct monitoring in all big shopping and business complexes to check whether they are providing proper parking facility.
Ganesh Rai, executive officer at KMC, said a feasibility study to build an underground parking space from Bhadrakali to New Road is being carried out. He added that KMC is also planning to build Kathmandu Tower at Old Bus Park with underground vehicle parking facility.
Through the meeting, PM Bhattarai has ordered KMC to remove all unnecessary hoarding boards on road sides and make footpaths street vendor free. The meeting was attended by more than two dozen high ranking government officials including Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire, transport secretary and traffic police chief, among others.
Source: Kantipur
Given the high use of private vehicles on valley roads that is creating serious traffic congestion problems, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Sunday emphasised on the need for devising a policy that discourages owning personal vehicles.
“The resources and infrastructures available cannot bear the rising number of vehicles in the valley,” he said addressing a meeting on traffic management and road improvement here on Sunday. “The trend of people’s unwillingness to travel in public vehicles is being developed,” said PM Bhattarai. “Such a mentality must be removed,” he said.
Following increased complaints about traffic congestions, accidents and arbitrary charging of public transport fares, Bhattarai, who also looks after the Ministry for Labour and Transport Management, has taken transport related issues seriously of late. The government is also preparing to come up with a new National Transport Policy soon with a view to better manage the transport sector.
Bhattarai said since construction of roads is not taking place in line with the increasing number of vehicles, priority should be given to alternative roads and construction of roads on either side of rivers. He suggested the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Department of Transport Management, Metropolitan Traffic Police and other agencies concerned to work on this front in a coordinated manner.
Kathmandu Valley is the most crowded city of the country in terms of operation of vehicles. According to the Department of Transport Management, the government has so far registered a total of 570,145 units of vehicles in the Bagmati Zone, including 53,960 bikes and around 6,000 vehicles under car/jeep/van category, in the last fiscal year.
At the meeting, PM Bhattarai directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to conduct monitoring in all big shopping and business complexes to check whether they are providing proper parking facility.
Ganesh Rai, executive officer at KMC, said a feasibility study to build an underground parking space from Bhadrakali to New Road is being carried out. He added that KMC is also planning to build Kathmandu Tower at Old Bus Park with underground vehicle parking facility.
Through the meeting, PM Bhattarai has ordered KMC to remove all unnecessary hoarding boards on road sides and make footpaths street vendor free. The meeting was attended by more than two dozen high ranking government officials including Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire, transport secretary and traffic police chief, among others.
Source: Kantipur
