Traffic management initiative launched in Rajbiraj

BY BINAY KARNA,Kalyanpur, Feb. 10: A traffic management initiative has been launched in the Rajbiraj Municipality area after unorganised parking began to disrupt traffic movements. 

Under the leadership of the District Administration Office, Saptari, Rajbiraj Municipality, the Transport Management Service Office, Rajbiraj, and the Traffic Police Office, Rajbiraj, have jointly implemented the initiative. 

Rajbiraj, the country’s first planned city, established in 1959 through ‘town planning,’ has been suffering from haphazard parking, which not only gives the city an unattractive look but also disrupts vehicular movements.  

The traffic management initiative was taken forward after Chief District Officer Bhola Dahal held discussions with the heads of concerned offices regarding road safety, traffic management and accident reduction.  

According to the Acting Mayor of Rajbiraj Municipality, Israt Parveen, to regulate random parking, the Rajbiraj Traffic Police has been provided with the necessary equipment, 

She stated that vehicles would no longer be allowed to park along the main road from Hanuman Temple to the turn near Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital. Additionally, a ‘one-side’ parking system will be implemented on the main market roads.

Furthermore, heavy goods vehicles will be prohibited from entering the busy roads around Rajbiraj farmers market from 8 am to 8 pm and it is expected that traffic movement will become smoother in a few days.  

Incomplete bus park  poses problems 

Traffic management in Rajbiraj has been facing issues due to the incomplete operation of the under-construction bus park at Rajdevi Chowk.  

Although construction began in 2017, delays have forced public vehicles to park haphazardly in the heart of Rajbiraj, particularly at Gajendra Chowk and along the main road. 

Initially inaugurated in 1987 by the then Prime Minister late Marich Man Singh Shesha, the bus park was inaugurated multiple times. The then Zonal Commissioner Surya Bahadur Sen Oli inaugurated it in 1989, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 1995 and Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development Dipendranath Sharma along with then-Mayor of Rajbiraj, Shambhu Prasad Yadav in 2017.

Chief District Officer Bhola Dahal said that the Rajbiraj bus park would be operational by mid-March. As construction has reached its final phase and the contractor has committed to handing it over within a few weeks, authorities expect the bus park to be functional by next month, easing traffic congestion in the city.

 Unregistered vehicles  

Hundreds of e-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws are operating in Rajbiraj, yet only 31 of them have been officially registered with the concerned authorities.

During a meeting on road safety, traffic management and accident reduction led by Chief District Officer Bhola Dahal, the head of the Transport Management Service Office, Saptari, Kameshwar Rohit, said that none of the e-rickshaws operating in Rajbiraj had obtained route permits, despite more than a hundred being in operation.  

Among them, only 18 e-rickshaws and 13 auto-rickshaws have been registered, while 79 auto-rickshaws have route permits. However, the number of unregistered auto-rickshaws operating is twice as high.  

Chief of the Rajbiraj Traffic Police Office, Tek Bahadur Basnet, stated that the haphazard operation of e-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws has disrupted not only traffic management but also increased the risk of accidents.

 “Unorganised parking has led to minor accidents. Now that stakeholders are showing concern, we will coordinate efforts to improve traffic management within a few days,” he said.  

In the meeting chaired by Dahal on Thursday, stakeholders decided that all e-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws operating within the municipality must complete vehicle registration, obtain route permits, renew licenses and secure insurance by March 4. Failure to comply will result in a complete ban on unregistered vehicles in the city area.