E-Kantipur

DAILEKH, MAR 19 - The Thursday's bus accident in Dailekh that accounted for the death of at least 31 passengers was primarily due to the condition of the road, which is unfavourable for driving.

Bed Kantha Yogol of of Surkhet-Jumla Road Project said the section of the Karnali Highway, where the mishap occurred, is not in a condition to drive, at least not for bus or other large vehicles. The 69 km stretch of the highway from Khidkijyula onwards is just a one-lane track barely enough to accommodate one vehicle at a time.

 "It is just a track. It is not yet ready for vehicles to ply on," Yogol said.

 Regardless of the risk factors, it was found that authorities gave permission to transport companies to operate their vehicles along the road.  

"Accidents like these have increased because authorities are giving travel permission to transport companies based on the demand of people," said Hari Prasad Devkota, chief of Transport Management Office (TMO) of Nepalgunj.

Before letting transport companies operate their vehicles on a newly opened road, the regulation is that, the concerned authorities must first submit a document to the TMO stating the quality of the road has been tested. After that the TMO will mobilise its technicians to verify the quality of the road. Only after the TMO verification, transport companies are allowed to operate their vehicles on the road.

"What happens in most cases is that the authorities issue permission to the transport companies without considering the condition of the road. This leads to accidents," said Devkota.

10 passengers still missing

The status of the 10 passengers, who went missing in Thursday's accident, was unknown as of Friday evening. Many fear that they might be dead by now.  Thirty-two people were killed when a passenger bus plunged into Karnali River at Pipalkot VDC-6 along the Karnali Highway.

 

Posted on: 2010-03-19 12:00

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