Kathmandu, April 17:

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) has asked the Ministry of Education and

Sports to direct schools in the Kathmandu valley to make adjustments in their daily routine to ease traffic congestion during the peak hours.

It has suggested that the schools in the valley function between 9 am and 3.30 pm, instead of 10 am to 4.00 pm. The traffic police officers claim that the change in school timings would lessen the number of vehicles on the streets in the Kathmandu valley during the peak hours and help ease traffic congestion.

SSP Bhisma Prasai of the MTPD told this daily that the number of vehicles has increased by 300 per cent in the past 10 years but only 43 km road has been extended in the duration. “The negligible extension of roads as compared to the increase in number of vehicles has been creating many problems, including traffic management in the valley,” he said.

Either construction of more roads, fly overs or change in the school schedule can help reduce the congestion, he said.

“Extension of roads and construction of fly overs will take time and resources but adjustments in school timings can be done relatively easily and effectively too,” he said. Some schools have already adjusted their schedules while others are in the process to do so, he said.

Janardan Nepal, Director General of Department of Education, said: “The Ministry of Education has already informed all the schools about the proposal of MTPD but its implementation is entirely up to the schools.”

“We all want to avoid inconvenience due to traffic congestion, so it would be better for valley dwellers to adjust their schedules,” he said. However, Umesh Shrestha, president of Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABASON) said, “We have advanced school timings by half-an-hour. But it is difficult for parents.”