Just a week before the prohibitory orders were imposed in Kathmandu Valley, Nirmala Ghimire had bought a new scooter to ease her commute to her office from her apartment at Kalanki.
She used to commute by public transport earlier. By getting the scooter, Ghimire thought she was reducing her risk of catching the coronavirus.
The 26-year-old says she had learned to ride before buying the scooter and was prepared to take the test for a two-wheeler licence.
But she could not take the test as the Department of Transport Management was not conducting the test.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the department has not issued new driving licences since March last year. Although the department opened online applications for driving licences in mid-January this year, it has not yet conducted the driving trials.
Ghimire says she was compelled to ride her scooter to work without licence when Kathmandu Valley was under strict prohibitory orders and public vehicles were not allowed to operate.
“I had a travel pass issued by my office but no licence,” she said. “I was stopped by traffic police more than six times during the prohibitory orders and every time I managed to get off after showing the pass issued by my office.”
Mina Khadga has a similar experience of riding her scooter to work without a licence during the lockdown last year.
The 25-year-old had got a new scooter just before the lockdown and applied for a licence. She too is waiting for the transport department to resume the tests for driving licence.
“I have been stopped twice by traffic police. When they asked whether I have a licence, I told them confidently that I have it. Luckily, they didn’t bother to see,” said Khadga, who lives at Bakhundole.
Khadga feels bad about having to lie about having a licence. But she also says she had no choice since travelling by public transport is not safe.
Her application for a licence was not processed as the transport department closed its services soon after she had…