Hetauda, June 1
The government of Province 3 has announced plans to ban fossil-fuelled vehicles in key cities such as Kathmandu, Chitwan, Hetauda, Banepa, Dhulikhel and Panauti in the next ten years
According to the announcement made during the presentation of the government’s annual policy and programmes, fossil-fuelled vehicles won’t be allowed to ply after 2028. The government says that the plans have been introduced to encourage city dwellers to take up EVs as their means of transport.
This is the first time that the government has set a date for the transition to EVs in the country’s capital, which has been facing unprecedented levels of pollution in the last few years. Around 60 per cent of pollution in Kathmandu can be attributed to vehicular traffic.
The adoption of EVs has also been linked with efforts to cut down on a burgeoning trade deficit with India, from where Nepal imports petroleum worth millions of dollars.
