2. February 2014

COVER STORY
continuted from page 29
Is the present road architecture to be blamed
for such mayhem traffic congestions and noise
pollution?
In the Capital alone we have more than 3 lakhs
vehicles roving around in one day, so in several
places bad road architecture and planning is to
be blamed. Imagine,one traffic policemen have
to monitor 762 vehicles in the city and without
appropriate technology and work up to 15 hours a
day. Every department should take into account
of the importance of planning and not only for the
present but for the future as well, as more vehicles
will be registered and the traffic congestion
problem will arise again. Our laws allows 26
decibels of noise on the roads but in city the noise
pollution by vehicles are of 100 decibels, however
we have managed to reduce from from 100 percent
to 10 percent.
Traffic Management
Inspector S.R Hachhethu, stationed at
the Durbar Marg Department, explains that
the main concern and objective of the Traffic
Department, as a whole, is to reduce road
accidents and consequent fatalities.
What improvements could be instituted
in the Traffic Department in terms of
administrative details?
Firstly, coordination and communication
are key but they are lacking in the current
scenario. Consider this: we only have
three percent administrative power
whereas in other countries the Traffic
Department is given full authority. The
Department currently knows which
areas are accident prone zones and what
measures must be taken to save lives
in the future. It is frustrating to hear
news of high death tolls and accidents
in the roads of Nepal via
foreign newspapers. If
we are given 50 percent
administrative authority,
there will likely be a
concomitant decline in
incidents and fatalities.
How important is road
architecture in this
regard?
Road architecture is of
the utmost importance;
road geometry can reduce
fatalities instantly. With
proper road geometry and fluorescent lights
installed, I can guarantee that fatalities
will decrease drastically. However, we
need better architects, mathematicians,
engineers and laborers, International
standards, aesthetics, environmental
consciousness and better road materials are
the needs of the hour. The importance of
road architecture was highlighted by D.I.G
Bigyan Raj Shahi and D.I.G. Ganesh Raj Rai
who were instrumental in helping many
departments raise awareness and focus on
reconstruction of many city roads.
30 / SPACESNEPAL.COM