Students volunteer for traffic management in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Students, as a part of their extra-curricular activities, have been volunteering to manage traffic system on the streets in the Kathmandu Valley, again this year.

The Kathmandu-based schools and colleges' students have been volunteering on the streets for at least three to four hours daily.

A total of 2,500 students had volunteered in the fiscal year 2016/17, said inspector Bal Krishna Pokharel. They help traffic police to deal with traffic congestion.

"Traffic police are facing difficulties in managing the heavy traffic due to human resources paucity and we are lending a hand," said Arik Basnet, a Bachelor's level student at the Golden Gate College.

However, some pedestrians and drivers dismiss them as nothing in regards to obeying traffic rules and regulations.

"Some drivers and pedestrians take us merely as volunteers, who have no authority in helping implement traffic rules," shared Rakshya Rijal, a student at the college.

Despite this, the trend of volunteering in the streets has encouraged others to join in,  some of the colleges in the Valley have even sent their students to volunteer as part of their practical examinations.

The numbers of student volunteers are increasing, Inspector Pokharel further said.

According to the Department of Transport Management, the number of traffic police dealing with traffic on the streets is about 1,300 against the 1.1 million vehicles.