By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 29: The Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari, said on Tuesday that the Kathmandu Valley had started witnessing increasing number of vehicles (private only) in the name of having passes during the nationwide lockdown.
“Lockdown violators in the name of possessing government passes have been increasing as the lockdown period prolonged,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kiran Bajracharya at the Metropolitan Police Office, told The Rising Nepal.
Twenty-one four wheelers were found misusing the government passes and they were impounded during the security checking on Tuesday, she said.
As of 4:00 p.m. record from Tuesday 6:00 a.m., the MPO impounded 1,061 vehicles from the capital city, 960 two wheelers and 101 four wheelers, from the Capital, she said.
“Government issued passes are found misused by the vehicle owners in the name of distributing relief packages to the needy people while some were found plying vehicles even by correcting the old government passes,” SSP Bajracharya said.
Some government vehicles, and medical supply vehicles too were found misusing the passes by carrying unnecessary passengers, whose jobs don’t fall under essential service, she said.
On Tuesday, police arrested 1,387 people from the Valley, 1,048 from Kathmandu, 313 from Lalitpur and 86 from Bhaktapur district.
“Today’s arrest (lockdown violators) was quite high in comparison to Monday’s arrest and the number of impounded vehicles. On Monday, police in the capital had detained 1,327 lockdown violators. Of them, 993 were from Kathmandu, 274 from Lalitpur and 60 from Bhaktapur. On the same day, Metropolitan Traffic Police impounded 340 vehicles, of them, 308 were two wheelers and 32 four wheelers.
On April 26, after the issuance of circular to all DAOs by the Ministry of Home Affairs to control the vehicular movements, the Metro police had impounded 453 vehicles from three districts of the Valley. Of them, 429 were two wheelers and 31 were four wheelers.
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General and chief at Metropolitan Police Office Bishwa Raj Pokhrel said that after the Ministry’s new circular to all DAOs on Monday, not a single passenger on a bus was allowed to enter from Thankot check post and other borders adjoining the Valley.
DIG Pokhrel said the Valley police will continue tightening the monitoring of the implementation of the lockdown and have an eye on those misusing the government passes. As the lockdown period extended, people have started coming out of their homes neglecting the government’s order, he said.
Following the government’s order on Monday, District Administration Offices (DAOs) of 77 districts has stopped issuing passes to vehicles unless it was very essential and public vehicles for carrying passengers in the name of rescuing stranded people from one district to another.