Nepali army ordered to ditch cars to cut pollution
22 December BBC
Nepal's senior army officers have been ordered to ditch their cars at
least once a week when coming to office to reduce air pollution and
traffic jams.From now on, every Friday they must walk, cycle or use
public transport to go to work in the capital Kathmandu.
Army chief Gen Rana set an example by riding a mountain bike from his
official residence to the office.The capital lies in a bowl-shaped
valley and suffers from high levels of dust pollution.The army move was
welcomed by environmentalists, who also urged the government and NGOs to
follow the suit.Gen Rana asked all army officers from lieutenants to
generals - based within Kathmandu valley to refrain from using private
vehicles on Fridays.He said the move would also help promote healthy
lifestyle.
A known cycle enthusiast himself, Gen Rana on Friday donned cycling
gear and pedalled about 3km (two miles) from his residence to the army
HQ, passing through dusty and busy roads.The army chief who looked quite
comfortable was joined by a number of senior army officers along the
way.Gen Rana took over the reins of nearly 100,000 strong army three
months ago.Commenting on the new initiative, army spokesman Brig Gen
Suresh Sharma said:
“We are observing Fridays as a clean environment day.”Nepalese
environment activists say the levels of dust pollution in the Kathmandu
area are up to seven times higher than the permissible limit set by the
country's health authorities.While welcoming the army drive, they also
point out that the lack of dedicated cycling lanes remains a major
handicap to the campaign.
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