Kathmandu, May 10

Roads in Kathmandu valley witnessed a sharp increase in the number of vehicles today, as the government opened up certain sectors of the economy.

The government has issued vehicle passes to ensure certain types of economic activities. This led to people venturing out of their homes in private vehicles creating traffic congestion in some parts of the valley.

The government has allowed people working in certain government offices and banks and those engaged in production of essential goods and services to use private vehicles. It has also allowed vehicles carrying construction equipment to ply the valley roads between 9:00am and 10:30am and from 3:30pm to 7:00pm.

However, there persists confusion among beneficiaries on what types of vehicles are permitted on the road at what time. This resulted in more vehicles plying the roads, creating traffic congestion.

Officially cargo trucks and tippers are allowed to ply the valley roads between 8:00pm and 6:00am, while vehicles carrying essential goods such as food, vegetables and milk can ply between 4:00am and 10:00am.

Traffic police personnel, meanwhile, took action against 881 vehicles, including 201 four-wheelers and 680 two-wheelers for violating the lockdown rule. As many as 302 people were held for walking on the street for no valid reason.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 11, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.