Trafficking in Kathmandu
Nepali Times ईspecial 3 November 2024
Now that the festivals are done, it is time for our annual update on traffic rules for Kathmandu, which drivers will know can change at a moment’s notice without anyone noticing.
Having been randomly pulled over before Dasain for making an allegedly illegal U Turn in Pulchok where there was no no-YouTurn sign, and ambushed by a squad of Blue Shirts, I take this opportune moment to apprise you of Kathmandu’s new trafficking rules.
Alert readers will have noticed that Kathmandu now has smart traffic lights everywhere with fancy LED counters that show drivers they have to wait 217 seconds before the lights turn green again.
Many do not seem to know what the lights mean, so here is a reminder: Green: Go fast. Yellow: Go faster. Red: Only 1 second left, drive like hell.
Nepal also has different rules on highways and on city streets. For example, if a micro ahead of you on the Mugling stretch gives a blinking right signal it doesn’t mean he is turning right into the Barasinghe Pub, it is telling you that it is safe to overtake him. However, the same micro in Teku giving a right signal means he is indeed turning right at the intersection.
We don’t overtake on Kathmandu’s roads, we takeover. The centreline is just a suggestion, and there is no right or wrong. Motorcycles are allowed to drive on the right side, which used to be the wrong side. The left lane is reserved for knick-knack vendors and to park piles of bricks.
Navigating can be a challenge in a city where there are few street names and house numbers. Which is why Google Maps is now testing olfactory sensors so it can literally smell its way around Kathmandu like a canine. Vehicles can soon follow familiar odours along the Goomati Corridor to the destination by detecting the friendly neighbourhood garbage dump, and turn right in 100 metres after passing the Sewage Canal.
To assist you with new traffic signs, here is a cutout that you can paste on your dashboard for easy reference (courtesy the Ass column):
Meanwhile, in other matters, read all about the just concluded 20th edition of Jazzmandu with, among other items, an amazing fusion of flamenco and tabla. Nepali Times has been a proud partner of Jazzmandu since its inception, a music festival that started the trend of naming things with the ’mandu suffix. Read Pinki Sris Rana’s roundup of this year’s highlights: East Meets West at Kathmandu Jazz.
Despite its loss to Bangladesh 2-1 in the finals of the SAFF women’s football tournament in Kathmandu last week, the Nepali team put up a fierce fight. Morale was high after winning in a tiebreaker against India following some horrendous refereeing last week. Read Vishad Raj Onta’s riveting blow-by-blow account of the match in Ruckus at the Rangasala.
This week is the American election, and we have always maintained that the rest of the world should be allowed to vote in it, since who is in the White House seems to make such a big difference to the Planet. We have all been warned about a second Trump term, but author Robert R Kaufman examines the prospects for a Kamala Harris administration.
Nepali Times will return with a vengeance on print 8 November, and carry a roundup of political undercurrents as thrice Prime minister K P Oli prepares for his visit to China.
सबैको जय होस !
Kunda Dixit