By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 18: The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has failed to operate much-talked-about smart license printing machine even after it purchased the machine about three months ago.

The mass printing machine was imported to meet the high demand of smart licenses as the applications seeking the smart licenses had piled up at the DoTM.

It is said that the machine could not come into operation despite continuous attempts of the technicians at the DoTM.

Inability of the technicians to operate the printing machine is due to lack of operating skills and insufficient accessories supplied by the supplier, said Tirtha Raj Khanal, information officer at the DoTM.

As the core technicians who have to work with the machines did not get a chance to go for a study visit to the manufacturing company of the machine, they are facing problem to make it operable in lack of proper skill and knowledge, Khanal said.

According to Khanal, director general of the DoTM, other high level officials, officials of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and from the Office of Prime Minister and Councils of Ministers had gone in the study visit instead of sending the technicians.

Currently, applicants of the driving license have not been getting smart license even one year after they have passed the examination and as the DoTM failed to utilise its printing equipment.

The DoTM had claimed to provide smart licenses to applicants within a few days after it purchased the mass printing machine. The machine has a capacity of printing 450 units per hour.

On the other hand, of nine small printing machines, only five are in operation in the lack of proper handling and maintenance, Khanal said.

Though the government has allocated budget to purchase another mass printing machine, but no one are taking initiatives for it, he said.

He said that the number of smart licenses to be printed is increasing every day as the existing five small license printing machines in operation are printing around 2,500 smart license every day.

Likewise, around 7,500 new applications seeking smart license are registered every day from across the country, he said.

Due to printing of only 2,500 licenses per day, around 5,000 applications are adding to the pile of unprinted applications every day.

Khanal said that the number of smart license applicants to has reached 746,545. So far, the DoTM has printed a total of 1,015,156 smart licenses, he added.