Traffic personnel in Birgunj are having a hard time monitoring the city’s e-rickshaws, most of which have been operating without registration.

According to the District Traffic Police Office in Parsa, there are around 2,000 e-rickshaws in Birgunj, and only around 350 of them are registered with the office.

Kamalraj Pandit, inspector at the District Traffic Police Office, said there has been a heavy proliferation of unregistered e-rickshaws in Birgunj in the recent years.
In the past, the Transport Management Office in Narayani used to register e-rickshaws. This responsibility was transferred to local governments with the implementation of federalism, and ever since, the number of e-rickshaws have increased in Birgunj. However, the majority of the e-rickshaws operating in the city are not registered with the city office.

“Most of the drivers are found driving e-rickshaws without registration papers or licences. The city office is not monitoring the operation of e-rickshaws in the city,” said Pandit.

Many e-rickshaws in Birgunj are also found carrying passengers beyond their capacity and causing traffic congestion, particularly at Ghantaghar-Makalu Hotel Chowk, according to the traffic police.

“Most e-rickshaw drivers lack awareness about traffic rules and regulations,” said Pandit.

Amjad Ansari, an e-rickshaw driver, blamed the city office for not issuing registration documents to e-rickshaw drivers.

“The city office rarely issues registration document on time,” he said.

As for the traffic congestion caused by e-rickshaws, Ansari said the city office should build parking lots.

Birgunj Metropolitan City had recently called a meeting to solve the problem of traffic congestion.

Arbinda Lal Karna, the information officer at the city office, said the meeting, which was attended by the officials at the District Administration Office, District Police Office and elected representatives, decided to manage the city’s traffic flow by building parking spaces for vehicles and registering all e-rickshaws operating in the city.

“We are going to allocate parking space for vehicles and also start the registration process of e-rickshaws,” said Karna.