The biggest Hindu festival has already started. An increasing number of people have been leaving Kathmandu valley for Dashain celebration with their families. According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, around 100,000 people have been leaving the Capital daily from various entry points. Similarly, a huge number of passengers have been flying to their homes for Dashain festival.
With the increase in the flow of passengers, we have been receiving reports of road accidents. The risk of road accidents is always high during festivals. A few people died and scores injured in two separate road accidents in Sindhuli and Nuwakot districts on Friday. It is sad and unfortunate to have such accidents during festival. Though traffic police say that they have drawn up special plan to minimize road accidents, this doesn’t seem to be enough.
Looking at the road accident statistics of the past few years, it was found that mostly the vehicles plying on the highways and remote hills met with accidents. High-speed, bad roads, overcrowded vehicles, old vehicles, have been found to be the major causes of accidents. The road accidents could be reduced to some extent if the government body paid attention to these causes.
One of the main reasons for accidents is the shortage of passenger vehicles during festivals. Because of the shortage, vehicles carry passengers beyond its capacity. Only the pledge by the government body to take action against the vehicles carrying excessive passengers wouldn’t resolve the problem.
Dashain is the time of the year when people want to go back to their homes and villages to reunite with their families, which is why people often compromise and become ready to squeeze themselves into a crowded bus. However, no one seems to be doing anything to make arrangement for operating vehicles targeting Dashain festival. Both the federal, local governments should think of innovative ways to resolve this problem.
Now we have local government councils. They can manage the buses of schools and colleges. The federal government in Kathmandu can make similar arrangements. But no one has thought about it. Schools and colleges across the country are closed during the festival. The concerned authorities can operate buses in coordination with the schools. All it takes is the willingness. Nevertheless, the police should intensify monitoring and regulations as there is a high tendency among drivers to drive under the influence, and carry passengers beyond capacity during Dashain. Such policing will help in minimizing potential accidents.
Secondly, it is necessary to maintain the condition of roads. Most of the roads leading away from the Capital and various long and short-routes are not properly maintained. Granted, it is not possible to blacktop all the roads, but the local governments can at least fill the potholes in the roads surrounding their area. But the local bodies area turning a blind eye to such minor problem.
Moreover, the condition of vehicles plying in rural areas are shoddy. Be it big passenger buses or light vehicles, they are only concerned about earning by raising money from the passengers. Recently, the government bodies had encouraged the policy to operate the vehicles older than 20 years in places apart from Kathmandu and Pokhara.
Along with poor maintenance and shoddy condition of vehicles, the vehicles overloaded with the baggage of passengers bought for Dashain have been found to be the cause of accidents during Dashain. It is true that the number of accidents are growing during Dashian. So the administration and security bodies should stay extra alert during the festival. It is necessary to make arrangement for first-aid treatment and take the injured passenger to hospital in accident-prone areas.
Therefore, the government bodies should pay attention for the safety of passengers during festival unlike in normal times. Safety of passengers must always come first, but it is necessary to become more active towards that during festival. The federal government, of course, has its responsibility to ensure passenger safety, the local government should pay special attention about it.
As the country has adopted federal structure, the local government can make a special plan for the safety of people instead of relying on the federal government. The federal structure has made the provision for enough local representatives in each ward who need to take the issue seriously.
