E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, FEB 11 - Lack of proper road safety measures in Nepal kills at least three people everyday, due to want of proper maintenance and other steps.

“The construction of new roads is generally the main focus of the government, not the maintenance,” concedes Balaram Mishra, Chief at the Department of Roads (DoR). “Continuous maintenance of the constructed roads is equally important.”

Roads are a major parameter of a country's development. However, road safety, which is equally important, is much less heard of in Nepal. Lack of road safety measures every year results in fatal disasters--in 2008, 953 people were killed in road accidents.

However, road safety measures don't end in just maintaining the road. Regular monitoring of the transport system, traffic pressure on the highways, stringent measures while issuing driving licenses, and proper training to drivers are other steps that should be taken into consideration.

Though the government allocates a budget every year towards road construction, no budget is allocated towards road safety measures, and no department has been set up to this effect.

Though the government has established a Traffic Engineering and Road Unit under the DoR, which is supposedly working towards road safety measures, the unit continually suffers from a lack of budget. “We look after road symbols and markings but the budget is not enough to carry out the task,” says Ramesh Chaudhary, an engineer at the Unit.    

Interlinked government departments like DoR, Department of Transport Management (DoTM), and the Traffic Police passed the buck to each other when asked.

Mishra said concerned authorities like DoTM and Traffic Police must “perform their duties responsibly” to make roads safer.

The Traffic Police argues that only 20 percent of the road management falls under their responsibility. “Our job is to manage the roads, not to examine the vehicles whether they are road-friendly or not,” said DIG Binod Singh, Chief of Metropolitan Traffic Police Divison (MTPD).

Singh attributed human error as a major factor for road accidents. “We are trying our best but DoTM and DoR must act responsibly as well,” Singh said.

DoTM denied it had the “proper technology to check the fitness of the vehicles,” according to Sharad Chandra Poudel, Chief at the department. “We are working on establishing a vehicle fitness centre, first in Kathmandu and then in the five development regions.” It is mandatory for vehicles to undergo proper checking twice a year. But DoTM says it is not well equipped to carry out the checking properly.

 

Posted on: 2010-02-17 02:54

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