Local administration on Friday started barring the operation of heavy vehicles on the BP Highway, five days after the Supreme Court (SC) issued an interim order to this effect.

The police said the enforcement of the apex court order was deferred due to the delay in receiving the official letter.

A single bench of SC Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla on Monday had issued the interim order directing the government to bar heavy vehicles from operating on the highway.

The order was issued in response to a writ petition against the government’s May 27 decision to allow operation of vehicles with maximum 32 seats and cargo carriers weighing up to 16.2 tonnes on the 158km motorway. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management Raghubir Mahaseth had decided to allow heavy vehicles at the highway.

Heavy vehicles continued to ply the BP Highway for the past five days in defiance of the SC’s interim order. Meanwhile, the authorities concerned had not taken any steps to enforce the directive as well.

With the implementation of the order, over 400 heavy vehicles (passenger, cargo) were sent back from Hirapani in Kamalmai Muncipality-4, informed District Traffic Police Office Assistant Inspector Rameshwor Pandey. He further informed that passengers travelling in heavy vehicles were shifted to vehicles that met the highway criteria.