KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 4

Over 70 per cent vehicles failed the emission test conducted by a joint team of Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office and the Department of Environment yesterday.

The emission test was conducted in Thapathali area, one of the busiest traffic intersections in Kathmandu, on the basis of random sampling. The vehicles included both private and public ones. Of the 54 vehicles, 38 failed to pass the emission test. In comparison to other vehicles, the condition of diesel vehicles was found to be the worst in terms of emission.

KVTPO Spokesperson SSP Rajendra Prasad Bhatta said the emission tests on vehicles plying the valley's roads would continue. The owners or drivers of vehicles failing emission tests were ordered to pay fine ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500, depending on toxicity of the emission.

Traffic police said their licence would be returned only after payment of fine and mechanical repair of faulty vehicles.

The increasing number of vehicles with poor maintenance has turned Kathmandu valley into the most polluted city in the country.

The tests being randomly conducted on vehicles indicate that mostly four-wheelers are the behind the deteriorating quality of air. However, the government has not been able to initiate stringent action against polluting vehicles so far.

As per the Vehicle Emission Standards implemented by the government in 2003, the emission level for four-wheelers registered in Nepal in or before 1980 should not exceed 4.5 per cent of carbon monoxide of the total emission and 1,000 parts per million of hydrocarbon concentration. The four-wheelers registered in the country after 1981 should not emit CO exceeding three per cent of the total emission and should emit below 1,000 ppm hydrocarbons.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 4, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.