Kathmandu, Jan 24: A total of 174 vehicles out of 292 have failed the pollution test conducted by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), marking a 60 percent failure rate among those tested.

The results include 14 petrol-powered vehicles failed out of 71 tested and 160 failed diesel vehicles out of 221 tested. According to KMC, 160 diesel-run vehicles did not meet the required pollution standards.

KMC Assistant Spokesperson Dhurba Kumar Kafle stated that the testing was carried out in accordance with the Environment and Natural Resources Act of 2077 BS, Pollution Control Standards of 2081 BS, and the Waste Collection and Transportation Procedure of 2081 BS.

The ongoing vehicle checks are part of KMC's efforts to mitigate the impact of vehicular pollution in the city. Vehicle owners who failed the test are advised to repair their vehicles within a specified time and bring them up to the required standards.

In preparation for future actions, KMC plans to gradually enforce penalties on vehicles that fail to meet the criteria, with an opportunity for owners to make improvements through an awareness program launched on January 13.

The pollution tests have so far been conducted on petrol and diesel vehicles operating in areas such as Koteshwor, Durbarmarg, Chakrapath Balkhu, Babarmahal, Teku, Sukedhara, Sinamangal, Panipokhari, and Jamal. Among the vehicles that failed the test were buses providing public transport services, school buses, government jeeps, trucks, and others.

KMC’s Department of Environment Management is conducting the vehicle pollution checks in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, and the Metropolitan Police Force.