Parliamentary committee instructs for ensuring safe, smooth travel during festival period

Kathmandu: The House of Representatives (HoR) Infrastructure Development Committee has directed the bodies concerned for making the travel of passengers easy, safe, dignified and well-managed in view of the approaching big festivals as Bada Dashain, Deepawali and Chhath, among others.

Committee President Ashish Gajurel informed that the directive was given based on the suggestions, advice, and constructive ideas received after the discussion in today’s committee meeting.

He said that instructions have been given to operate sufficient vehicles according to passenger demand during festivals like Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath, operate vehicles from designated bus parks, sell tickets from stipulated places, and ensure passengers board and get off only in safe areas.

The committee has instructed the relevant authorities to arrange services, passenger help desks, and necessary facilitation for persons with disabilities, senior citizens, women, and children.

Keeping in mind the surge in travel during festivals, the committee has called attention of the authorities concerned to assessing road conditions and potential risks in advance, preparing alternative routes, conducting technical checks on vehicles, ensuring drivers get enough rest, and controlling speed.

The meeting directed the relevant bodies to control the practice of carrying more passengers than capacity, ensure effective implementation of the integrated bus park policy, and maintain necessary coordination among the related agencies.

The committee has instructed the ministry to prepare and implement an immediate action plan that makes it easy for travelers to get tickets, ensures the effective enforcement of fares, and has a strong system for addressing complaints, so that situations where travelers can’t get tickets, have to pay more than the set fare, or face irregularities or fraud with tickets are prevented.

The committee has decided to select MP Rajunath Pandey as a member of the subcommittee that was earlier set up to make public transportation easier, smoother, more organized, and orderly during festivals like Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath.

It has also instructed the relevant authorities to ensure travelers are not cheated on the price or quality of consumables like drinking water, snacks, and meals in course of road travel.

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