Pokhara, 7 December| Following increasing complaints from tourists about traffic congestion and chaotic parking in Lakeside, Pokhara’s main tourism hub, stakeholders have initiated measures to resolve the issue. A meeting organized on Saturday by the Community Service Center and Community Police Service Baitam, involving local government bodies and security agencies, decided to ban bus parking on the main Lakeside streets in the first phase. Thakur Baral, Chairman of the Community Service Center Baitam, stated that the road was becoming disorderly due to tourist buses and Indian-plated vehicles parking directly on the street. He informed that alternative parking spaces have been arranged for large vehicles at the Tourism Bus Park, Barahi Ghat, and Camping Chowk.
Vishnu Bahadur Bhattarai, Chairman of Pokhara Metropolitan City Ward No. 6, emphasized the need to phase out roadside parking and identify alternative parking areas, as large vehicles parked along the main road cause significant traffic jams. DSP Nawaraj Bhattarai of the Ward Police Office Baitam highlighted that haphazard parking was leading to traffic obstacles and increased accidents, stressing the necessity of installing traffic sign boards. Sujeet Kumar Devkota, Chief of the Kaski District Traffic Police Office, suggested that the area from Hallan Chowk to Barahi Chowk should initially be made one-way. He also recommended restricting large vehicles to only transporting tourists and setting specific time limits for cargo vehicles. The consensus among stakeholders was to form a task force for road safety and management to seek long-term solutions, especially since a previous attempt to declare Lakeside a ‘No Vehicle Zone’ was stopped due to local opposition.
