Kathmandu, Aug 26 : Easy and accessible public transport should be made available in any live city. Such service should also gain wider public trust. Nevertheless, it is difficult for the common people to access public transport services easily in the Kathmandu Valley.
Owing to the rise in population
density with the increasing urbanization, the number of people using private
vehicles has also gone up. But, it is difficult for citizens to use public
vehicles in the federal capital.
Although the road has been
expanded, private vehicles, including two-wheeler are forced to endure long and
annoying jams in the busy roads in Kathmandu.
It may be noted that the government
has adopted various measures for the management of public vehicles. Yet it has
not been implemented effectively. Efforts to bring big vehicles into operation
have also not yielded significant results.
Although the concept of metro rail
was mooted in the Kathmandu Valley for the management of public vehicles, it
could not be implemented due to technical and financial difficulties.
In order for the government to
discourage the rising use of personal vehicles, there are feasible ways for the
operation of podways as the most appropriate technology.
It is claimed to be the newest and
most quality technology ever. Most of the local governments in the Kathmandu
Valley have expressed willingness to operate the podway.
Vice-chair of Kathmandu Podway, Nil
Bhattarai, said that they have initiated efforts to operate the podway with the
aim of providing transport service to the common Nepali people in an accessible
manner by eliminating the challenges, inconveniences and its weaknesses in the
public transport sector of Nepal. According to him, this measure has also been
included in the policy, programme and budget of the current fiscal year.
In some places, a request has
already been made to carry forward the feasibility study and preparation of
detailed project report (DPR).
In particular, podway is a
technology based on wire (cable). It is said to be another and state-of-the-art
form of cable car. In other words, it is also the latest and state-of-the-art
structure of the train. It has been considered as a new technology developed in
the field of public transport. According to Bhattarai, the podway can be
operated easily within the existing ring road if the government grants
permission.
For this, there is an urgent need
for the government to make legal arrangements for the operation of
transportation services of this kind. (RSS)