Uncertainty Over Embossed Number Plate Distribution Halts Work

Following the ‘100% infrastructure destruction’ during the protests in Bhadra last year, all activities related to embossed number plates have been halted, officials have reported. Director of the Department of Transport Management, Maniram Bhusal, explained that the work has not yet resumed because the vehicle number plate printing machines were destroyed during the unrest, and the software system was also affected.

“About six hundred thousand plates were produced at that time, but with the destruction of the printing machines and damage to the software system, operations were brought to a standstill,” he said.

Although the Decatur Tiger IT Company—a joint venture between American and Bangladeshi investors—was responsible for printing and their contract expired in Mangsir, the government extended it by three years considering the situation. Director Bhusal added, “The company was given the responsibility to restore operations to their previous state within these three years in a phased manner. However, there has been little satisfactory physical progress so far.” Despite digital number plates being mentioned in the budget nearly a decade ago, significant advancement has yet to materialize.

According to officials at the Office of Transport Management, it is estimated that there are approximately 5 to 6 million vehicles nationwide, but digital embossed number plates have been installed on fewer than 200,000 vehicles. Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development’s spokesperson Gyanraj Lamsal stated, “We currently have no new updates regarding embossed number plates. All operations were halted due to the fires caused during the protests, and to date, no progress has been made.”

Even before last year’s protests, service users had complained about the high cost of installing the new number plates. Various transport business organizations also seriously challenged the government’s decision to make embossed number plates mandatory and requested a suspension of the implementation. Many vehicle owners who have obtained numbers recently have expressed dissatisfaction, as they can have number plates made at locations of their choice, but embossed number plate owners have not been afforded this convenience.