POKHARA, August 27: The efforts to ban unnecessary use of horns in Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan City of Kaski district is paying off as the use of horns in the area is coming under control of late.
'No horn policy', a collaborative effort of the traffic police and the municipality, was implemented in the city area from July 30. Since its implementation, as many as 187 vehicle drivers have been booked for violation as of August 16, according to District Traffic Police Office (DTPO), Kaski.
Honking banned in 14 easternmost districts
“Likewise, since the start of the month of Bhadra (August 17), we have booked 58 offenders,” informed Bishaw Raj Adhikari, chief of the DTPO. According to him, they have started collecting monetary fines from the offenders since the beginning of the Nepali month of Bhadra instead of sending them to mandatory classes. “In the first phase, we have set the fine amount at Rs 500. The same offence for the second time will be fined Rs 1,000 while the third-time offender will be fined Rs 1500,” he added.
The DTPO informed that the number of two-wheelers booked for the offence is higher compared to the four-wheelers fine for the same offence. Most of the four-wheelers fined are of black number plates.
Adhikari said they even deployed police in plain clothes to effectively enforce the policy.
“Horns cannot be honked unnecessarily unless it is in turning points and during emergency situations,” he said.
A total of 164,091 vehicles have been registered in Gandaki Zone. Most of those vehicles ply the roads of Pokhara. Even most of the vehicles registered in Dhaulagiri Zone ply on Pokhara roads. As per the statistics, one traffic police has a share of 2,247 vehicles to monitor.
