Heavy vehicles banned from plying BP Highway

Sindhulimadi, June 8

District Administration Office, Sindhuli, has put a complete ban on the operation of heavy vehicles on the BP Highway from yesterday.

A single bench of Justice Sapana Malla Pradhan at the Supreme Court last Sunday had issued an interim order against the operation of heavy vehicles on the BP Highway.

Chief District Officer of Sindhuli Gyan Prasad Dhakal said heavy vehicles were not allowed to ply the highway following the Supreme Court’s interim order.

Earlier, heavy vehicles had started plying the highway after Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Raghubir Mahaseth gave a nod to 32-seater buses and heavy vehicles of up to 16 tonnes to operate on the highway going against the report prepared by a technical committee formed by the government.

Department of Transport Management had given the permission to 32-seater buses and heavy vehicles to operate along the highway from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm when the department was without its director general on May 27 as per the directive of Mahaseth. Advocate Kailashraj Dahal had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the minister’s directive.

The court issued the order not to implement the government decision saying that it would increase road accidents and put many lives at risk.  Locals have welcomed the court’s verdict.

According to District Traffic Office, Sindhuli, around 700 vehicles ply the highway on a daily basis.

Transport entrepreneurs had been piling pressure to allow heavy vehicles to ply the highway after the secretary-level meeting at the ministry decided to place a complete ban on the operation of heavy vehicles along the highway on May 19.