KATHMANDU: The Department of Transport Management, which oversees transport services across the country, has been in a state of collapse for over a month following the Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9.
The Department currently lacks both a functioning building and the digital infrastructure required to process service requests. To resume operations, it is attempting to utilize a waiting room originally built for service recipients as a temporary workspace.
The Department suffered damages exceeding Rs 3 billion in the fire that followed the protests. Similar disruptions have affected 44 transport offices across the country that serve thousands of people daily.
The main server that supports these offices was destroyed during the unrest. While a few components were salvaged, the department says it is nowhere near ready to resume full services.
“We don’t have a building or a functioning system. In the first phase, we are retrofitting the damaged building and coordinating for other needs,” said Keshav Khatiwada, Director of Information and Technology at the Department.
He added that even though three or four devices from the main server survived, they are insufficient to resume operations. “Reestablishing the data center within public procurement regulations will take at least four to five months to complete. We’ll also need to raise about Rs 450 million for the process,” he said.
Unfortunately, the plate production plant and the temporary building housing it were also destroyed in the fire. In light of this, the department has instructed all affected offices to coordinate with their respective provincial ministries and resume service delivery to the extent possible starting Thursday.
Due to the prolonged service disruption, both public inconvenience and departmental pressure are mounting. To mitigate the impact, the department is working to temporarily resume services by Chhath festival.
“We are making arrangements to provide temporary services using the government’s Integrated Data Management Center (IDMC), the Security Printing Center, relevant ministries, and other departments through fast-track procurement,” Khatiwada said.
To reduce the system load, services will initially operate at staggered times—morning, afternoon, and evening.
“The temporary center won’t operate at full capacity. The system speed and memory will determine how many users can be served at a time,” he noted.
The Department is also under pressure to restart license printing, with a backlog of 5,000 to 7,000 licenses daily, including new issues and renewals. According to estimates, over 150,000 licenses need to be delivered to service recipients every month. Once the system is restored, a high-capacity printer will be required to manage the volume.
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, along with the Secretary and Department of Transport Management, is currently discussing the immediate purchase of two new printers, according to Keshav Khatiwada, Director of Information and Technology at the department.
The Department estimates that out of 22,000 printed driving licenses, around 18,000 were destroyed in the fire caused by arson during the recent protests. Only about 3,000 licenses were recovered, Khatiwada said.
Among public procurement options, government-to-government (G2G) is likely the fastest route, he added. “The recently damaged printer was purchased from Italy. Even for new purchases, we will need to rely on a foreign company. In that case, the G2G process is the shortest way forward,” he explained.
To initiate this, the department is currently limited to writing to the relevant embassy and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA). If the G2G option does not work, the department will be required to call for open contracts under standard procurement procedures.
Although the responsibility for driving licenses and vehicle registration was devolved to provincial governments in 2075 BS, provinces remain dependent on the federal government for technical support.
Only Bagmati Province has its own independent server and is able to continue with vehicle registration without disruption. However, license testing and issuance still require access to the department’s central system, which is currently down.
Even after a month since the incident, the Department has not received a comprehensive report on the extent of damage to offices across the country.
“We’ve been informed that four transport offices in Bagmati Province have been completely destroyed. The Birtamod office in the east is also completely damaged, and offices in Lahan, Kaski, and the Kathmandu Valley have suffered partial damage. But we don’t yet have a consolidated report,” said Khatiwada.
As of last July, a total of 819,059 embossed number plates had been prepared. Of these, only about 200,000 had been dispatched to provincial offices. The rest were stored at the department and were destroyed in the fire before shipment.
According to the Department, approximately 619,000 number plates have been lost. This includes: 632,141 plates for two-wheelers; 164,191 for four-wheelers; 14,582 for heavy vehicles; and 8,145 for three-wheelers.
Unfortunately, the plate production plant and the temporary building housing it were also destroyed in the fire. In light of this, the department has instructed all affected offices to coordinate with their respective provincial ministries and resume service delivery to the extent possible starting Thursday.
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