Kathmandu, August 19

Three more traffic lights have been brought into operation in Lalitpur to facilitate vehicular movement.

Metropolitan Traffic Police Division said new traffic lights were installed in Pulchowk and Harihar Bhavan in association with Lalitpur Metropolitan City, while the existing but dysfunctional traffic light of Jawalakhel was repaired.

Senior Superintendent of Police Bhim Prasad Dhakal, MTPD in-charge said it was making necessary efforts to install additional traffic lights in the valley, in coordination with the concerned local government.

Traffic lights are in operation in Singha Durbar, Padmodaya Mode, New Baneshwor, Putalisadak, Subidhanagar, Gairigaun, Munibhairav, Kalimati, New Thimi, Gaushala, Mitrapark, Putalisadak, Narayan Gopal Chowk, Paropakar, Tankeshwor and Mahapal.

“We are also doing groundwork to install and resume traffic lights in other intersections of the valley. There is an urgent need to find smart solutions for traffic management,” he said. SSP Dhakal appealed to all and sundry to abide by the traffic light signals.

The department of roads, in association with the MTPD had recently fixed traffic lights in 25 places of the valley that had remained dysfunctional for the past nine years.

“This has reduced one-third of the workload of the traffic police,” SSP Dhakal added. Around 1,350 traffic police have been working in the valley for traffic management.

According to MTPD, more than 1.2 million vehicles ply the valley roads on normal days. Earlier, all those vehicles were managed manually by traffic police. Moreover, they are also assigned to clear roads for scores of VIPs each day to make sure they do not get stuck in traffic jams. Traffic management has become a daunting task due to inadequate traffic lights and overhead crossings at thoroughfares and main roads of the valley.

Feature Image: File

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.