Kathmandu: Kamal Chhetri, a resident of Kirtipur, Kathmandu, filled an online form for a new license in 2020 but he is still waiting for his trial exams. His trial is slated for January 2022.
“It is so disappointing that we have to wait for over a year for such an important document,” Chhetri said. “The concerned body must immediately build a mechanism to resolve the problem.”
There are many applicants like Kamal who are waiting for their two-wheeler’s license trial for a long time. Nikesh Mishra, a resident of Naya Thimi, Bhaktapur is also one of those. He submitted the online form for the new license around seven months back and his trial is slated for December 2022, which means he still needs to wait for one year.
Mishra echoes Kamal in urging concerned bodies to conduct the trials soon. “The concerned authorities can extend the number of trial centers, ” said Mishra.
He needs to travel to Matighar from Naya Thimi every day to attend college. He travels through public vehicles which are often overcrowded. For comfortable travel, owning a new bike is the best option, he says. As the license trial is delayed, so has his plan to buy a new bike.
Although thousands of people are facing a lot of problems due to the issue, authorities haven’t come up with any solution. And as things stand, there is no clue on how long this problem will last.
According to Loknath Bhusal, spokesperson at the Department of Transportation and Management, altogether, there are 21 trial centers in Nepal, and on average, 5,000 people appear for trials in those centers daily.
But for someone who is going abroad and is in need of a license, DoTM has made special arrangements. “The department can prepone their trial date,” said Bhusal. “All they need to do is submit their documents.”
The nationwide lockdown imposed to curb coronavirus halted the vehicle’s trial exam for a long period. As a result, many people were compelled to wait a long time for the trial. As some semblance of normalcy has returned, thousands of people have filled the license form, only to wait for months, if not years, to appear for the trials.
Since the country has a very limited number of trial centers and a huge number of license candidates, the entire process for license trial is disturbed and delayed, according to Bhusal.
Although thousands of people are facing a lot of problems due to the issue, authorities haven’t come up with any solution. And as things stand, there is no clue on how long this problem will last.
Those riding their two-wheelers without a license certificate are subjected to a fine of Rs 1,000 by Traffic Police.
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