Kathmandu, December 25

Pedestrians and traffic police personnel are having a hard time as zebra crossings on streets all over the city have begun fading away.

Zebra crossings on the Ring Road, on roads of Suryabinayak, Thimi, Koteshwor, Baneshwor, Maitighar, Singha Durbar area, Anamnaghar, Chabahil, Gausala, and many other places of the city have faded to be almost indiscernible, making it difficult for pedestrians to cross roads.

“Vehicles cannot see the zebra crossings, and it can be very dangerous to cross busy roads,” said Parbati Thapa, a pedestrian.

Sushant Nayaju, a 12th grader, said many pedestrians had resorted to crossing roads where ever they wanted as many zebra crossings had faded away.

“You cannot expect pedestrians or vehicle drivers to respect traffic rules if the infrastructure isn’t there to follow them,” he said, urging authorities to repaint the faded zebra crossings on the roads in Kathmandu Valley.

Khem Bikram KC, police inspector at Metropolitan Traffic Police Office, Kathmandu, said it was difficult to enforce traffic rules when zebra crossings were in such disarray.

According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Office, Kathmandu, a total of 166 people died in various road accidents in the capital during the fiscal 2015/16, and 40 per cent of the victims were pedestrians, who were killed while crossing the roads.

Traffic police has informed about the problem to the Department of Roads repeatedly, but the department claims it lacks the budget to repaint zebra crossings.

Ayodhya Prasad Shrestha, regional director at the Central Regional Road Directorate of the Department of Roads said work on repainting zebra crossings in Kathmandu Valley had already begun and would be completed in a month.

He said the office was concerned about increasing road accidents.