KATHMANDU, Dec 11: The Transport Management Office at Ekantakuna is yet to distribute some 70,000 driving licenses. The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has stated that it has sent all the smart driving license cards to the offices concerned for distribution after it cleared its backlog during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sambar Bahadur Karki, chief at the Ekantakuna-based transport office said that people who applied for a license two to three years ago are yet to come and get their cards from the office. A huge number of smart driving license cards were printed after the government procured and brought the mass printer into operation last year.

The office has stated that the number of service seekers visiting the office for license cards has decreased after Tihar. According to Karki, the number of service seekers drastically increased after the first nationwide lockdown was lifted by the government. “The crowd might have formed as many were free because offices remained closed during that period,” he said, adding, “Now that the offices have resumed, the crowd is comparatively low.”

According to the office, about 15,000 renewed driving licenses are yet to be received from the DoTM after printing. The office, instead of opening its service for applicants applying for new drivers’ licenses, has been working on renewal and distribution of licenses. Though the department has stated that it will accept new applications, Bagmati provincial government has not decided to open the service. About 400 service seekers are visiting the office for renewal services daily.

(with inputs from RSS)

 
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