KATHMANDU, April 7: Since Thursday, the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD), Baggikhana, has started clearing out the encroached footpaths in the capital and opening the otherwise shut river corridors with the target to complete these works in three months. The action comes as a part of the division's nine-point working procedure which will span three months. The division has been running such operation repeatedly over the past few years but none of them have been able to bear fruits.

According to officials, the division has set the target to clear all the footpaths in the capital using a step by step sector-wise approach. “The division has started clearing out encroaching structures on the New Baneshwar-Old Baneshwar-Sinamangal road section from Thursday,” chief of the division, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basanta Panta told Republica, “We have divided the capital into sectors where we will run the operation on allocated time periods.”

He added that the vehicles found to be parked on the footpaths are being wheel-locked or chain-locked and fined Rs 500 as per traffic regulations for parking in unauthorized areas. Spokesperson for the division, Superintendent of Police (SP) Jayaram Sapkota informed Republica that more than 60 two-wheelers and about a dozen four-wheelers have been fined the amount in the two days.

The division has also started opening up the vehicular movement along the river corridors in the capital in order to ease the congested vehicular movement on the major roads in the capital. “If we are able to open up all of the river corridors, the vehicles will have an alternate route to travel,” SSP Panta said, “This could serve as a relief to the ever-sophisticated traffic in the valley.” With the opening of the corridors with the clearing of the paths under bridges, motorists will be restricted from taking left turns, right turns and U-turns from the bridge neck.

Spokesperson Sapkota told Republica that the division is currently working on opening up the river corridor from Balkumari to Patan and Gopi Krishna to Bhatkeko pul in the first stage of opening the vehicular movement along the river corridors. “We have already started works to open up the river corridors in the two locations,” he said, “The two river corridors will be opened in four days.”

As a part of their nine-point working procedure, the division has also started on-the-spot awareness programs for two-wheelers. SSP Panta said that groups of random 15 two-wheelers motorists are being formed whereby the motorists are made aware of the traffic disciplines. “We have targeted to make the two-wheelers aware of road safety since two-wheelers have been involved in the majority of the accidents in the capital,” he said. The division has also started efforts to garner the attention of the concerned stakeholders to install more street signals and increase the number of taxi stands.

 
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