Kathmandu, November 18 : The government is preparing to form a separate taskforce to undertake a comprehensive study on the construction of cycle-lanes in urban areas across the country.
While receiving a 10-point request letter last week from the Nepal Cycle Society (NCS) in the capital, Minister for Urban Development Krishna Gopal Shrestha revealed this information.
The proposed taskforce will comprise of the representatives from the ministry and NCS along with other environmentalists as its members. It is looking to carry out the study in close consultation with the local levels of all seven provinces.
According to Minister Shrestha, all roads in the urban areas-whether they are under construction or being planned to get constructed in the future- shall have separate lanes for those riding cycles.
He even directed the contractors to build cycle-lanes in the roads if they have failed to do so as per the agreements.
Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development Dr Ramesh Prasad Singh viewed that it has become simply imperative to ensure the facility of cycle-lanes in big cities of the country like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Biratnagar and Janakpur. “This will help not only in reducing the road accident rate but also in protecting environment. “
President of the NCS, Ratna Shrestha, said that since the number of people preferring bicycles is constantly on rise, the construction of separate cycle-lanes in the roads has no alternative.
