Kathmandu, Jan. 19: Motorcyclists have been thronging the Transport Management Office at Ekanta Kuna, Lalitpur to meet a 45 day deadline that the government has set for changing number plates, paying revenue arrears and bringing data on vehicles up to date.

The office handles functions such as receipt of vehicle tax and local vehicle tax and issuing of blue books, and it takes a whole day to see through any one of these functions.

Lecturer at Patan Multiple Campus Kishor Lamsal, who came to change his number plate, says the government should have decentralised the functions of the office and adopted a division of labour.

Bijaya Aryal, who queued up since 7 am to renew his blue book said he has not been able to accomplish that task although he has taken two days’ leave from his ngo office. The 45 day deadline is too tight, he said.

Nirmal Nakarmi of Himalayan Magic Adventure Pvt Ltd says it would be so much better for the general public if revenue collection is assigned to each ward.

Office chief Srikant Regmi, who is busy along with his l5 co-workers from 9 am to 7 pm complains that he is understaffed and there is no supervision from above.

About l,000 vehicle blue books are renewed every day, it is claimed. Of the 80,000 motorcycles and scooters in Bagmati zone, the blue books of only l3,000 had been renewed by Monday.

It would have been better if the system had been alphabetized with vehicles coming under each letter assigned a separate time slot, it is stated.

The situation is further complicated by the need to carry out work pending since the past four or five years and the misplacement of documents including blue books.

Meanwhile, some individuals have been profiting from the number change.

Bhai Raja Maharjan, who charges Rs 25 per motorbike, says some 70 bikes come to him every day and he makes up to Rs 600 daily.

Those who have no time to queue up have been paying the office employees themselves Rs 300 to expedite revenue payment, it is stated.

Attempts to contact director general of the Department of Transport Krishna Murari Sharma in this connection were unsuccessful.

The department has said that an alphabetical system for assigning vehicle numbers is not possible, but a new system is to be adopted to prevent repetition of any number. This system can accommodate millions of vehicles.