The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has started a pilot project aimed at helping Kathmandu residents monitor the state of traffic at Gaushala via internet. The new online venture is being implemented, besides SMS and phone services now being used to keep tabs of vehicular movements at busy junctions. If successful, the project is likely to cover other traffic hubs like Kalanki, Koteshwor, Maharajgunj, Ratnapark, Jamal, Lainchaur and Kalamati, all highly prone to jams.

Any technology that facilitates daily lives of people in anyway should be brought into use, if feasible. Use of technology for traffic management also poses a rather interesting question: Can’t similar technologies be used for garbage management, or controlling the number of stray animals on City streets, or to settle any other pressing concerns of Kathmandu Valley residents? Coming back to traffic, as important as regulating its chaotic flow may be the need to limit the number of vehicles on the road. People should be encouraged to use public transportation, both to keep the traffic at a manageable level as well as to undermine the twin evils bedevilling the metropolis — noise and air pollution. In passing, could the concerned municipalities also repair all those defunct traffic lights soon?