The license service provided by 42 transport management offices across the country has been stopped since August 23.
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The process of applying for a new driver's license has come to a standstill after the traffic management office was set on fire during a demonstration last August. The department estimates that 18,000 out of 22,000 printed licenses were burnt due to arson. Out of this, only 3 thousand licenses have been found safe.
Keshav Khatiwada, the director of the department, said that it is not certain how many licenses were printed until the system is operational. "Currently, it is estimated that 18,000 licenses have been burned and lost," he said, "The exact data will come after the system is operational." Two types of licenses were being printed by the department. "In case of going abroad, the license was printed and given within 24 hours of applying," Khatiwada said, "2.5 million service users who applied at other times were printed and given according to their needs." Now both these services are stopped. It is said that the department is also discussing about ending the printing of old licenses and some solutions will be made after Tihar.
Khatiwada said that he is preparing to run the system to regularize the license application. "We are preparing to run the system by asking for necessary devices from various ministries and offices. The data center of the department was also destroyed by fire. We need to call for the purchase of four to five crores to run it," he said. The procurement process for the new system is going on, we are starting the system now to provide the service.
Currently, the work related to the license in 42 transport management offices has stopped because the system is not working. "If there are no technical problems, we are working to start the service after Tihar," said Khatiwada, "As we are going to start the system by asking for help from various offices, its speed may slow down. In that case, we will make an arrangement for applying according to the state." Then what happens to the customer whose license is burnt or lost? "After the system is running, we will first look there, we can see the license of the period printed on the Facebook page of the office, and we will join by looking there as well," he said.
Khatiwada said that there is also a question whether to print the license for free after paying for the burnt or lost license. "This is in the process of discussion, nothing has been decided," he said. "The first thing to do is to run the system to open applications for licenses," he said, "There has been more damage to the embossed number plates, the plates that have been prepared are burnt to ashes, we are discussing this with the suppliers, nothing more has been decided." According to this, 4 to 5 thousand passed the trial for new licenses. In the department, daily up to 300 people were applying online and 200 in writing for emergency license.
During the demonstration, all the embossed number plates prepared to be sent to the provincial and related transport offices for connection were burned. According to the department, 8 lakh 19 thousand 59 embossed number plates were prepared till last July. Out of that, only about two lakhs were sent to the respective provinces and offices under it. The remaining number plate is in the department and was destroyed by fire while it was being prepared to be sent.
Now, according to the department's estimate, 6,19,000 number plates have been burned and destroyed. According to department sources, 632,141 two-wheelers, 164,191 four-wheelers, 14,582 heavy vehicles and 8,145 three-wheelers were produced.
