Kathmandu, October 31

Do not be taken by surprise if there are no traffic cops on the streets of the Kathmandu Valley as traffic police to vehicle ratio in the capital is far below accepted international standards.

According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, worsening road safety in the capital can be blamed on the imbalance in the traffic police to vehicle ratio.

According to statistics, the current strength of MTPD is 965. This means a traffic cop has to manage 764 vehicle and cover 1.65 km.

“How can one see traffic cops manning the streets, when the traffic police to vehicle ratio is so dismal, while the vehicle population is increasing every day?” a senior traffic police official questioned. Lack of civic sense among road users has made matters worse.

The MTPD has installed more than 200 CCTV cameras to boost its capacity to supervise, regulate and monitor traffic in Kathmandu. A special CCTV Control Room has been set up in the MTPD office for this purpose.

The installation of CCTVs has made it easier for traffic cops to regulate vehicular movement, and catch unruly drivers. “We are monitoring vehicular traffic round-the-clock through surveillance cameras. This has also helped us manage traffic, especially during rush hours and VIP movement,” he said.

According to the MTPD, installing CCTVs could be the best option to compensate for shortage of human resources in the department. Vehicle population in Kathmandu Valley currently stands at 7,37,100. “The traffic police to vehicle ratio was 557:78,243 in 1995 against 965:7,37,122 in 2015.

But vehicle population has has increased by 842 per cent, while the traffic police strength has been increased by just 73 per cent,” he revealed.