Kathmandu, April 12
Health Minister Gagan Thapa has proposed that the government ban all vehicles from plying on Fridays to control alarming levels of pollution in Kathmandu.
In his special proposal presented before the Cabinet, Thapa has also suggested that vehicles running on fossil fuel should be banned in Kathmandu after sometime.
“Due to air pollution, the whole of Kathmandu Valley feels like a brick kiln,” Thapa said adding that the situation calls for emergency measures. “If we had an active civil society in Kathmandu, the government would have had to tackled the issue from morning to day,” Thapa said.
In his five-page proposal, Thapa has suggested that a hi-level committee be formed at the earliest to tackle the problem. He said the Department of Roads should take measures to reduce dust in the city. “I have also proposed that the government provide a grant to those who want to switch to electric vehicles.”
