Lack of traffic lights adding to street chaos

Kathmandu, January 20

Traffic management is becoming increasingly challenging due to lack of traffic lights in different parts of Kathmandu Valley in recent times.

According to SP Dambar BK at Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, Kathmandu, it has been a daunting task for traffic police to manage vehicular movement  during peak hours in the Valley.

“We have only 1,400 traffic police personnel in the Valley, which is insufficient,” he said. A total of 10, 42,856 vehicles ply in the Valley in a single day while nearly 10,000 vehicles enter the city daily. SP BK said considering the 1,594.67-km length of the Valley’s road, the existing strength of traffic cops is too less.

“If there were traffic lights in the streets, we would not require much human resources for traffic management,” said the police official.

As per MTCD, it has identified 35 places in the Valley where traffic lights need to be fixed.  “We have been collecting details and trying to identify locations that require traffic lights. We are also repairing old lights for use in some places,” he said.