The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) of Nepal has found another very reliable way of capitalising on public safety… For months, (MTPD) has been inspecting Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases, locally popularised as MA PA SE (Madak Padartha Sewan). Policemen and policewomen are stationed at different parts of Kathmandu to check if drivers/riders are driving after alcohol consumption. Drunk driving accidents have been occurring for years but all of a sudden, the police have started being concerned about our safety just now.. and that too, at absolutely no limit! Yes, the alcohol consumption limit while driving here is ZERO. Even if you have a sip and it shows on the breathaliser, you’re busted! And if you get caught, your license is seized, you have to pay a fine of Rs 2000 and take a safety class initiated by MTPD of two hours the next day.



When this inspection process started, the authorities didn’t have the device i.e. breathaliser or breath analyser. They used to make people breathe out right in front of traffic policemen’s face to smell the stench of alcohol. They now say since it wasn’t healthy, they got the device. So my question here is, if they knew the procedure was unhealthy already, how could they start it in the first place? How could they show concern of the public safety while putting their own personnel in duty at risk? Okay, to shed more light on, I’ll explain a scene of a general pre-breathaliser DUI inspection. You ride/drive up to a MA PA SE checking point, then a traffic policeman will ask you questions like “Kaha gayera aunu bhako?” and “K kaam garnu hunchha?”, you know queries that are not really of their concern and carrying out a conversation so that they can get a sniff of your alcohol-inflicted breath. I heard some even took the interrogation to a funnier extent asking “Bhaat khanu bhayo?” or something…LOL