KATHMANDU: Public transporters will not be receiving any immediate relief from the government in response to their demand for creating a proper environment to resume operation of all kinds of public transportation services from September 17.
Transport entrepreneurs and leaders of different trade unions had submitted a four-point letter to Transport Minister Basanta Nemwang on Friday. Citing that their livelihoods had been affected due to the indefinite halt in public transportation, they had appealed to the minister to allow resumption of public transportation services.
In response to the request made by the transport entrepreneurs and workers, Minister Nemwang informed them that the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport alone cannot help them independently at the moment as it has to make decisions by coordinating with the Ministry of Health and Population and other concerned authorities.
“The minister said our demand to work is justified but the government is not in a position to provide us relief at the moment,” informed Bhim Jwala Rai, president of Independent Transport Workers’ Association of Nepal. According to him, the letter will be forwarded to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli soon to find a viable solution to their problems.
The entrepreneurs have demanded that inter-district transport services should be opened from September 17. They have also urged the government to allow vehicles with capacity of less than 16 seats to operate in Kathmandu Valley and to investigate the irregularities at the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center. The transporters have also sought an easy procedure for registration and renewal of vehicles.
Rai said that they had been waiting for the past six months for the government to take a feasible decision but the uncertainty has compelled them to actually demand for the resumption of public transportation services so that they can earn a living.