Hundreds of service seekers at different transport offices across the country had to return home without getting any of their work done on Wednesday due to technical difficulties.

Throughout the day, service seekers—who were there to renew their licence or issue new ones—stayed in line for hours to an end, while staff at the transport office sat idle, not informing the people that their server was not working.

“I was told to come at 10am to get my new licence. I waited for a long, long time, and left without even getting my licence,” said Rony Maharjan, a doctor by profession, who went to the Ekantakuna-based Transportation Management Office in Lalitpur. Maharjan, a resident of Kirtipur, had taken the day off to get her new licence. “I asked the officials about what was going on, but nobody gave me a clear answer. They said the servers were down, and they were not sure when they were going to fix it,” she said.  

The office at Ekantakuna is one of the most crowded places for service seekers. People start flocking to the office at as early as 8am. Wednesday morning too, hoards of people had already arrived by 8am. But officials pasted a notice of the server not functioning only at around 12 pm, after people had waited for more than four hours. The notice did not inform when the problem would be fixed.

The Post reached out to the computer operator’s office and talked with contact operator Uddhab Phuyal. “We can do nothing. It’s the responsibility of the National Information Technology Center (NITC) office to fix this problem,” said Phuyal. “In the past four months this problem was repeated for four times.”

Ramesh Pokharel, deputy director at the NITC, said the server was down due to the Tuesday’s lightning strike. “Many servers were down today—such as the Prime Minister’s office and the Land Revenue Office. We were busy fixing the servers of those offices, because they demanded immediate attention. And then we couldn’t fix the transportation department’s problem in time,” said Pokharel.  He said said the server was down due to an interruption in the uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

“This is a serious problem, and it will not repeat again,” assured Pokharel.

According to Kumar Prasad Dahal, director General at Department of Transport Management Office, every day the office distributes 3,000 licences and renews an equal number of licences from 15 different offices all across the country. Kathmandu Valley alone has been providing services from Ekantakuna, Sanobharyang, Sallaghari, and Chabahil. Similarly, the office’s report shows that every day 4,000 people register for a new licence online. Considering the numbers, the failure of the department’s server impacted thousands of people.

“I came all the way from Dhading to get a new licence, even after being stuck in a jam in the Kalanki-Naghdhunga road section for hours. But only after coming here did I know that the office was closed,” said Sanjaya Adhikari, 30. “Whenever you go to any government office, your work almost always never gets completed on time. It is as if the officers do not feel accountable for their customers.”  

Abhinna Gurung, another service seeker, from Nakhu, who had to return home with a day wasted, shared the same sentiments. “I was told the office would open at 10am, so I came a little early to avoid a long line. But the office didn’t open until 10:30,” says Gurung. “And after waiting for hours, finally around 12, they told us the servers are down. Why couldn’t they have someone fix it? Our entire day got ruined and we have to come again tomorrow. This is such a waste of time.”