Public transport operators announce not to operate vehicles

KATHMANDU: Public transport entrepreneurs have said that they will not operate public transport under any circumstances.

Presenting a five-point demand at a press conference on Friday, the Central Federation of Public Transport Nepal (CFPTN) said that transport cannot be operated in the status quo, adding that the operators will hand over the keys to the government.

CFPTN President Hom Prasad Adhikari said that the government has taken impractical and dangerous steps to operate public transport without prior preparation.

Stating that they have been asked to operate the transport without proper preparations, Adhikari said, “We will not operate, but will hand over the keys to the government.”

Adhikari said that the government neglected their demands to extend the deadline for loan payment by one year among others, adding that it is no longer possible to operate the transport under any circumstances.

On the occasion, CFPTN General Secretary Bharat Nepal objected to the government’s decision to operate public transport without any dialogue with the transport entrepreneurs.

In a move to further ease the nationwide lockdown enforced to control the spread of coronavirus, the government had decided to allow operation of public transport within the same district with fifty percent sitting capacity.