Kathmandu, Oct. 15 -- The process of issuing new driving licences has come to a complete halt since the Transport Management Department's office was set on fire during the September 9 protest.

The department estimates that out of 22,000 printed licences, 18,000 were destroyed in the blaze, while only 3,000 were found intact.

Although around 600,000 blank licence cards were found safe, officials said it remains unclear whether they can still be used, as the printers capable of printing on them were damaged. The department's server has also been offline since the incident, making it impossible to verify how many licences had already been printed before the fire, said Director Keshav Khatiwada. The department has not yet decided how to res...