Route permit of 26 micro buses scrapped; Govt decides to freeze bank accounts of transport entrepreneurs

Kathmandu / May 4: The government on Friday scrapped a route permit of 26 micro buses plying between New Bus Park and Old Bus Park in a bid to end the transport syndicate.

Meanwhile, the ticket counters of transport committees have been removed. Police have arrested as many as 14 transport entrepreneurs from various places across the country following direction from Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa.

Similarly, the Cabinet has directed Nepal Rastra Bank to freeze bank accounts of transport entrepreneurs via the Ministry of Finance.

Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association (FNNTEA) has been staging protest demanding reinstatement of syndicate system.

The Cabinet had decided to scrap transport committees and associations on April 17.

Govt decides to freeze bank accounts of transport entrepreneurs

Meanwhile, the government has decided to freeze bank accounts of transport entrepreneurs after they halted operation of vehicles across the country today.

The meeting led by Ram Bahadur Thapa, Minister for Home Affairs, on Friday decided to freeze bank accounts of the transport entrepreneurs who are protesting against the government decision to scrap their registration.

According to the source, the Department of Transport Management will urge Nepal Rastra Bank to freeze bank accounts of transport entrepreneur through the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting has also decided to probe the property of the members of Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association (FNNTEA). For this, the Department of Transport Management will release a circular to all District Administration Offices to collect the property details and submit them to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

The meeting has also urged the transport entrepreneurs to operate the public bus services. The government is ready to address the demand regarding the insurance, said the source.

The meeting has also decided that the government will not back off from its decision to scrap the syndicate system.