Nepal bans old vehicles to tackle air pollution

Nepal on Wednesday banned vehicles older than 20 years from plying the roads of the capital Kathmandu in a bid to control worsening air quality and to ease traffic congestion.

Hundreds of buses, trucks, pickups and taxis were not allowed to drive as authorities imposed the rule despite opposition from transport entrepreneurs, who have demanded compensation for their vehicles.

‘Starting today, vehicles that are older than 20 years have been banned in Kathmandu,’ said Tok Raj Pandey, a spokesman of the department of transport management.

 ‘We have done this to control air pollution which has been blamed on these high-emission vehicles. This would not only improve traffic, but will also make it easier for pedestrians,’ he added.

Pandey said roughly 2,500 vehicles would be affected by the move. The authorities will launch a similar campaign outside Kathmandu a year later, which will impact about 2,500 vehicles, Pandey said.

Bijay Bahadur Swar, a vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs, described the move as unfair.

‘We support the government decision. But we have invested millions of rupees in this business and the decision has hurt us,’ Swar told dpa.

‘We have requested the government to give us some incentives such as tax waivers on the purchase of new vehicles,’ he said.

The spike in pollution has been attributed to dust from a road widening drive, post-quake reconstruction as well as emissions from old vehicles.

An estimated 80,000 vehicles are driven on the roads of Kathmandu, home to 4 million people.