KATHMANDU, JANUARY 21
The district administration offices of Kathmandu valley have revised the odd-even vehicle rationing system, which they imposed beginning today.
A joint meeting of chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur had issued a notice stating that the odd-even rule would be applicable to all public and private vehicles, both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, except emergency ones until further notice. After some confusion over exemption to emergency vehicles from the rule, the DAOs today published separate notices today to 'dispel the confusion'.
The notices stated that oddeven rule would not be applicable to ambulances and vehicles carrying bodies and mourners, medicines and medical supplies, milk and dairy products, petroleum products, construction materials, daily consumables, fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, meat, animal feeds, agricultural inputs and animals. Similarly, health workers, government staffers, security personnel, employees of banks and financial institutions, insurance companies, airlines and public corporations will be allowed to use their vehicles on the basis of their ID cards.
Odd-even rule is not applicable to the vehicles of diplomatic missions as well. For mediapersons, press accreditation card issued by the Department of Information and Broadcasting will be required.
As per the system, vehicles with odd-registration number will operate on odd days (Nepali calendar date) and even registration on even days.
Authorities have reasoned that the measure is implemented in view of the ever increasing COVID-19 cases in the valley, which has been setting new records in the past few days in terms of freshly reported infections.
Likewise, according to the order issued by authorities, public transport will be barred from carrying passengers above its seat capacity and has made masks, sanitisers mandatory for passengers. The order further mandates drivers and co-drivers to have theirs masks and face-shield on at all times while on duty, to disinfect their vehicles on an everyday basis, to bar people without masks from getting on the vehicles.
Meanwhile, the DAOs have decided to shut down all the museums in Kathmandu valley from tomorrow in view of growing risk of COVID-19. The National Museum, the Narayanhiti Palace Museum, and the museums in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur will be closed for visitors. The government had recently decided to shut down all the public offices as well as places that draws a large group of people to prevent and control new variant of COVID that is pervasive in the country in the recent days.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 22, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
