Images captured by the cameras are shown on a display mounted on the dashboard allowing the driver to see what is happening in the front and behind the car.  

Addressing the 13th annual general meeting of the Kathmandu chapter of the Truck Transport Entrepren-eurs Association (TTEA), Nidhi said that the government planned to require transport operators and automobile dealers to install the devices on cars before sale.

The minister also asked the private sector to invest in technology to improve the services of transport sector which is considered to be one of the poorest in the world. Due to the syndicate system, it has been extremely difficult to overhaul the system for the benefit of travellers.

Minister Nidhi said that the government was working to amend Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act 1993 and expand the road network, open new tracks, extend the existing roads and upgra-de the present infrastructure.

“The government is doing a lot of things. We aim to work together with the private sector to achieve sustainable development,” said Nidhi.

Joint Secretary Rabindra Man Shrestha of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport said that the ministry had been mulling introducing a National Vehicle Plan and urged the private sector to help the initiative with creative inputs.

Director General Madhu Sudan Burlakoti of the Department of Transport Management pledged to take into account the inputs of the private sector before enforcing new plans and policies.

President of the Kathmandu chapter of the TTEA Rajendra Kumar Shrestha said that transportation entrepreneurs had been using a common server to  access information like the dates for renewing route permits and paying taxes and insurance premiums, among other data.

“The system contains information about 10,000 trucks in its database and we plan to extend the scheme to all the 48,000 trucks plying the country’s highways,” Shrestha said. He urged the government to accord equal treatment to both Indian and Nepali trucks. “Indian trucks carry much more than the designated load. This has caused damage to roads and bridges besides harming our businesses.”

Likewise, Arjun Ranabhat, president of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs Association, stressed the need to amend the Insurance Policy.

He criticized insurance companies for refusing to provide insurance coverage of more than Rs 200,000.

“The Insurance Policy says that insurance coverage can be increased to more than Rs 200,000 by paying an additional premium of Rs 1,000 for Rs 100,000. But the companies are not obeying this rule which has increased the risk for our business,” Ranabhat said.