Nepal tuk-tuks on their way out?

By Joanna Jolly
BBC News, Kathmandu

There are some 600 three-wheeler taxis in Kathmandu

Three-wheeler taxi drivers in Nepal have been staging mass protests since the government's decision last month to phase out their gas-powered vehicles.

The drivers have been conducting a series of strikes and rallies in the capital Kathmandu.

"We launched this protest because we think this decision is unfair," said Ram Kumar Blon, a three-wheeler driver who is co-ordinating the protests.

The three-wheeler drivers say they want the government to pay them compensation if they take their vehicles off the streets.

Battered three-wheeler taxis hawking for business are a common sight on the streets of Kathmandu.

There are around 600 of them, also known as Kathmandu tuk-tuks, in the capital alone.

They ferry an estimated quarter of a million passengers a day through the narrow and crowded streets of the city, for a charge of around 10 Nepali rupees a journey.

'Obsolete technology'

But despite their popularity, the Nepalese government decided in September that it was time to phase out these vehicles and replace them with newer, bigger microbuses.

"They're slow moving vehicles so they cause a lot of problems with traffic management," said Sarad Chandra Poudel, director general of the Transport Management Department.

"The technology they use is obsolete and it's hard to get spare parts," he said. "So they use parts from other vehicles which is dangerous.

"They also use cooking gas which has been subsided by the government for household purposes, not for the three wheelers," he added.

Mr Blon says the decision to scrap the three-wheelers is 'unfair'

Mr Poudel said he believed the new microbuses will be more comfortable and less polluting.

But the three-wheeler drivers disagree with his argument.

"Three wheelers pollution contributes only 1.5% pollution in the city's total pollution. And if we import micro-buses then it will pollute more than the gas three-wheelers," said driver Ram Kuman Blon.

"Also we don't believe that the gas three-wheelers are the reason to slow the traffic because if we bring bigger microbuses, they will be even slower," he said.

The three-wheeler drivers have asked the government to provide compensation for scrapping the three-wheelers as well as subsidising the purchase of new microbuses.

So far the government has ruled out providing any compensation, but says it is considering the protesters' demands.

Until a compromise is reached, the already congested streets of Kathmandu are likely to see even more disruption from three-wheeler strikes and protest rallies.