We talked to young college-goers about their experiences on wheels and off them. In this edition of Campus Talk, ten students of Malpi Institute in Gairidhara discuss the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ of Kathmandu roads and dig out their riding memories.[break]
Minnat Joshi/Republica
L to R: Saurav Kumar Rastogi, Pratik Oli, Sunima Dewan, Sauraj Raj Pandey, Astha Rai, Abhijiti Singh, Sandesh Dahal, Alisha Lama, Pramish Chhetri and Faktang Fago.
Faktang Fago, Sandesh Dahal, Pratik Oli, Alisha Lama, Sauraj Raj Pandey, Sunima Dewan, Astha Rai, Saurav Kumar Rastogi, Pramish Chhetri and Abhijiti Singh are all students studying A Levels. While some of the students have no interest in riding or owning a motorcycle or a scooter, most of them are in the learning process of riding their own two wheelers, while the rest are experienced riders.
When and why did you start riding a motorcycle/scooter?
Sandesh: Back then, it was a fun and new thing for me to do. I only ride my motorcycle back in my hometown, Dharan.
Saurav: I have a passion for riding. I currently have a Pulsar 220F. I learnt to ride a motorcycle when I was in grade eight. My cousin inspired me to do so.
Pratik: I was also in grade eight when I learnt to ride a motorcycle. I did so just for the fun of it.
Alisha: I started riding my scooter since 2009. I need it for daily use, as the mode of my transportation.
Those of you who don’t ride a motorcycle or scooter, are you interested in doing so?
Faktang: I know how to ride a scooter but I don’t own one. However, other members of my family do and so I ride them.
Sauraj: I haven’t got a chance to learn but I don’t think I’m too interested, either. I prefer walking or travelling in taxis.
Sunima: I know how to ride a scooter but I’m not allowed to ride it right now. After a couple of years, I would like to ride my own scooter.
Astha, Pramish and Abhijiti: I’m interested in learning but haven’t learnt yet.
Share with us, a page out of your motorcycle or scooter diaries.
Faktong: This one time, Alisha was riding the scooter and I was in the backseat. When we don’t have classes, we usually go around the city. When we were in Durbar Marg, Alisha mistakenly took a turn at the zebra crossing and the traffic police caught us. We both started begging the police to let us go and Alisha also gave him a chocolate to convince him.
Sunima: I was still learning to ride when one day as I was taking the scooter out of my gate, I reached a slope. As I forgot to hit the brakes, I almost crashed into a taxi. Both my parents refused to let me ride a scooter after that. But later they said I can, after some years.
Pratik: Few days ago, my friends and I, went to Shivapuri on a moped. It was a single-seated moped but we went on triple-load!
Saurav: Four months ago, I was over speeding in Baluwatar. While doing so, I realized I shouldn’t. I was near a turning then and was in a dilemma about whether to apply the brakes fast or slow. If I applied the brakes slow, that would’ve meant that I was going to hit a car and if I applied the brakes fast, that meant I would go skidding down the road. In the end, I decided that it’s better to skid than hit a car. I skidded quite a distance and when I got up, there was a crowd surrounding me. One man helped me get up but I was so nervous that I left immediately without thanking him.
Alisha: When I was just starting to learn how to ride the scooter, I remember I used to take my scooter out on the roads in the evening and just ride on my own.
What do you think about the Kathmandu roads?
Faktong: They are unsafe. The ring roads are well pitched but the smaller roads are full of bumps and every time it rains, the roads are full of water. I also think that people on the roads are very uncivilized.
Pramish: I remember when I was walking in Bishalnagar the other day, I had to change my way and take another road because the road was that bad. I think that the traffic police are generally nice. I live in Chahabil and the traffic police around there are very helpful. But again, there are those who are corrupt as well.
Astha: Kathmandu roads equals to lots of traffic jams!
Sunima: I think that this road expansion project should have started long ago. Then, the roads would be much better now.
Saurav: I’d say that the roads here are the worst, especially for those who are passionate about high CC bikes. I also generally believe that the riders as well as the pedestrians feel that obeying rules mean that they will become a smaller person.
Sauraj: Currently, the roads aren’t capable of handling the number of vehicles on the road. So this means lots of traffic jams. The roads have affected the lifestyle of people as it seems that people can’t get anywhere on time, these days, due to traffic.
Sandesh: Well, I don’t think it’s that bad. And, even if it’s late, the roads are being expanded. We should take this positively. I think riding itself always has a risk to it because while on the roads, our safety not only depends on us but also on other reckless riders.
Alisha: I also, think the roads aren’t that bad. I actually like Kathmandu roads. Well, at least the government is expanding the roads!
What do you think should be done to improve the condition of the roads?
Abhijiti: I think people should follow the rules properly.
Sauraj: Yes, I think we need to create awareness and have mechanisms for strict punishment for those who break the laws. For example, the ‘no-drinking-and-driving’ law (mapase) has drastically reduced the number of road accidents. I live in Chahabil and before the law, there used to be lots of drunk driving and accidents. But the situation has improved a lot.
Sunima: The government is taking steps. For example, just recently, I was riding with my dad and he got stopped by the traffic police for not wearing the strap on his helmet. He was then asked to volunteer for some time, on the road, and to help the traffic police.
But, I also think that if the government showed some strong action against violators, then people would obey the rules more.
Sandesh: Not all the blame should go to the government.
Alisha: I agree. I think the Nepal government is putting lots more effort into the road rules these days.
Pramish: Also, when it comes to following rules and road safety, it’s our lives at stake. We can blame the government but if something happens to us on the roads and we can’t get our lives back by blaming the government.
Related story
Save education
