Kathmandu, January 8

Lawmaker Dila Sangraula registered a proposal of urgent public importance at the Parliament Secretariat today, calling for discussion on road safety.

The lawmaker, who represents the main opposition Nepali Congress in the Parliament, mentioned in the proposal that road accidents were on the rise due to ‘unsafe roads and insensitive government mechanisms.’ Lawmakers Sanjay Kumar Gautam and Rangamati Shahi are seconders of the proposal.

Citing statistics of Nepal Police, Sangraula said 8,982 persons were killed in 40,777 road accidents across the country over a period of five years (2013/14 to 2017/18). On an average, 2,000 people are killed in road accidents every year. Many accidents go unreported mainly because the parties involved settle the matter themselves.

“There were around 100,000 vehicles in Nepal some 26 years ago when the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act and Rules were enacted. Still the same laws have been governing the transport sector. Therefore, timely amendments should be made to the laws to reduce accidents and enhance road safety,” Sangraula said. There are over 2.5 million vehicles registered in the country now.

She said that a discussion on these issues were needed to make the roads and travel safer, ensure post-accident rescue and care and reduce the deaths by half by 2020 as mentioned in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.