Home Minister Janardan Sharma has said that dysfunctional traffic infrastructure and poor state of road are hindering the works of traffic police in Kathmandu. 

The traffic police cannot manage the problem of traffic congestion by waving their hands to direct vehicles, he said at the meeting of the Parliamentary Development Committee on Monday. 

Minister Sharma also informed the committee that most of the traffic lights in Kathmandu Valley were not working.

 According to Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police Department (MTPD), out of 365 traffic lights in the Valley, only five of them, along the Koteshwor-Bhaktapur road, are in working order.

“Who is going to fix the traffic lights?” Minister Sharma asked the committee.

“The lights are out for over five years now. This has not only increased the risk of road accidents, but also made traffic management troublesome,” he added.

The home minister also took a swipe at the Department of Roads for not fixing the traffic lights and the roads.

“If only the traffic police is given the budget and required equipment, these lights could be fixed within three months,” he said.

Home Minister Sharma has  suggested preparing an integrated development plan to resolve all the problems related to roads and traffic infrastructure of Kathmandu Valley.

 “The problems can only be fixed by establishing a committee that will coordinate in every aspect of infrastructure development projects, be it installation of electricity poles, laying drinking water pipelines or building drainage system,” he proposed.

As a sustainable solution to solve the problem of traffic congestion inside the Kathmandu Valley, Minister Sharma said it was crucial to phase out old vehicles and promote and introduce public mass transit.

He also recommended developing satellite cities on the valley’s outskirts to ease the traffic volume at inner city areas.