Nepal bans entry of Indian vehicles ahead of New Year

Nepal has banned the entry of vehicles with Indian number plates in Pokhara ahead of New Year. As per the reports, the said decision was taken by the Pokhara Tourism Council in consultation with the district administration of Kaski to avoid traffic congestion during the celebrations.

This move has, however, sparked an uproar among tourism entrepreneurs. Former chairperson of Western Regional Hotel Association Hari Gaire, while talking about this issue, stated that the decision taken ahead of the New Year is ‘fatal’. He is of the view that the move sends out a wrong message as vehicles from other countries will be entering the country.
Chief District Administrator Ramesh KC that once the traffic police are ready to control and manage the congestion from the influx of foreign vehicles, the said ban on the Indian vehicles will be removed.
Pokhara Tourism Council Chairperson Chiranjivi Pokharel, referring to this ban, defended it citing the positive effects that this benefit the local business of entrepreneurs, travel agencies, and cabbies.
He further added that only public vehicles have been banned, and not private ones. He stated that Indian vehicles don't know the parking system and routes here, which eventually causes a number of traffic problems.

Records stated that in 2018, around 200000 Indian tourists visited Nepal by air. But Nepal does not have an appropriate system to count the tourist number that are entering the country by road. Nepal Tourism Board has also launched the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign in June to reach the target of 2 million arrivals from across the world by 2020.