Kathmandu, 2 February: Transport workers and owners of 20-year-old vehicles in Kathmandu took out a noisy protest rally to rescind the government decision that bans old vehicles from the three cities of the valley 10 November onward.

The decision was taken with the intention of improving air quality here. Drivers honked as they steered their vehicles through the city disrupting the vehicular traffic and the movement of people during the protest.

An estimated 11000 vehicles and two wheelers will be affected by the decision to place them elsewhere. Prices of such vehicles have gone down after the government move.

Critics say the government decision supported by environmentalists is not practical and will not achieve desired results and claim that poorly maintained vehicles, bad road conditions, and low-grade adulterated fuel cause the pollution, among others. The government last year phased out three wheelers fuelled by diesel replacing them with microbuses and gas-fuelled mini vans with the same intention.