There are many things that should be brought into play if road accidents inNepal are to be really minimized

The number of road accidents and the numbers of the dead and the injured in the past one month alone are enough to appall anybody.

The causes of the accidents have included driver’s negligence or recklessness, road condition, overloading of vehicles, etc.

Deadly accidents in quick succession have jolted government leaders, particularly the Prime Minister and the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, into moving to take corrective steps.

However, whether such a show of seriousness will last remains to be seen.

Transport Minister Ramesh Lekhak said, in responding to lawmakers’ queries in the parliament, on Sunday that the government was amending some transport-related laws, which envisages suspending for six months the driver’s licence of anybody killing anyone as a result of reckless driving and road permit and registration of any vehicle violating certain provisions of the law.

The proposed penalties apply to passenger vehicles carrying passengers beyond capacity or carrying goods, to tourist buses carrying non-tourist passengers, to private vehicles carrying passengers, to vehicles plying routes other than those permitted, as well as to passenger buses without at least two drivers on any long-distance journey.

The reasons for a high rate of accidents, which involves an average of five deaths daily, are several. Sometimes one reason is responsible, sometimes another reason, and still at other times a combination of two or more.

They include road condition, lack of discrimination in issuing route permits whether a particular road can safely take any four-wheeler or a particular type of vehicle, driver’s negligence, syndicate system and its effects, inadequate monitoring and lack of tough action by the traffic police and other authorized government agencies, some loopholes in the laws, and so on.

If road accidents are to be reduced to a minimum level, a situation should arise in which close coordination between the different agencies, governmental or non-government, can be ensured to monitor and correct any deviations in road transport.

The syndicate system, which controls routes, the entry of new entrepreneurs, fares, etc, has caused a lot of problems for smooth and competitive bus services in the country.

On most routes of the country, various syndicates rule, thus killing competition and excellence.

Transport Minister Ramesh Lekhak has also said that in an effort to end the syndicate system in road transport, the authority to issue temporary route permits has been delegated to chief district officers.

Penalties should also be tougher for violations of road transport laws, rules and regulations.

But other measures should also be considered, such as those that start with issuing the driver’s licence, including the minimum age necessary for acquiring a driver’s licence – for two wheelers, light four- wheelers and heavy vehicles – refresher training for drivers, say every year; and a review of the other criteria set for drivers; speed limits; the obligation to maintain vehicles in good condition and tough penalties for failing to do so.

There are many things that should be brought into play if road accidents in Nepal are to be really minimized.

NRA’s loopholes

People from as many as 50 VDCs and Kamlamai municipality in Sindhuli district have lodged complaints against the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) for not registering their names in the list of earthquake victims’ beneficiaries.

They have complained that their names were not included in the beneficiary list from which they are supposed to receive two lakhs rupees for the reconstruction of their damaged houses.

The earthquake victims who had earlier received Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000 and their houses were marked with ‘red’ were also deleted from the final list of the beneficiaries.

The deprived victims have warned they would disrupt the grant agreement process if they were also not included in the beneficiary list.

The way the locals have lodged complaints with the VDC office it looks like there had been some sort of discrepancies while collecting data at the grassroots level.

The local level authorities, civil society members and cadres of political parties must sit together and address their genuine grievances.

No genuine quake victims should be left out of getting the government assistance for which billions of rupees have been earmarked for reconstructing the damaged houses.