Kathmandu, May 3:

Habits die hard. Or the more things change, the more they remain the same .

One year after the formation of the GP Koirala government, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) is issuing driving licences in the name of His Majesty’s Government (HMG).

A driving licence issued last Tuesday proves this .

Asked why a licence was issued in the name of both HMG and the Government of Nepal, Arjun Panta, chief of the Licence Section at the Bagmati Zonal Office of DoTM, said he issued them, as the government provided them in that form.

However, Khagendra Mani Pokhrel, the DoTM director general, said the department had directed the respective offices to cut “His Majesty’s Government” and overwrite Nepal Government if the cards on stock were to be used.

He also said that the DoTM has already printed new copies of licence and holograms with Nepal Government and has sent them to various offices. “But if the copies on stock are to be used they should be used only by wiping out the words that need to be changed (HMG).” That raises two questions: why the licence was issued in the name of HMG and who among the two government functionaries were lying.

He said he would take necessary action against those who issuing such licences without wiping out His Majesty’s Government, and that such licence holders would be questioned by traffic policemen.