E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, OCT 10 -

The Kathmandu valley this year witnessed the highest number of road fatalities during the Dashain festival since the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) began keeping records.

Fourteen accident-related deaths and 25 serious injuries were reported during the Dashain festival this year. The accidents caused mostly by drunken and reckless driving soared to the highest number in five years—184.

Nine persons had died and 18 injured in 2010.

Five-year data at the MTPD show that 28 men, six women and six children were killed since 2007, while 11 men, a woman and two children died this year during the festival.

Though the records show only two deaths during the Dashain period, the reduction in the number of fatalities stems from a revision in the number of days that are counted as Dashain holidays—reduction from the 15-day period in the past years to a 6-day period this year.

The MTPD used to prepare a separate report of road accident cases of the 15-day Dashain earlier. However, this year, it has compiled records of only six days after the government scaled down the number of holidays.

“From this year, we included only those road accidents in the report that occurred within six days from Fulpati,” Jagat Man Shrestha, the Superint-endent of Police (SP) at the MTPD, said.

According to the statistics posted on the MTPD website, there were 124 serious injuries and 598 simple injuries in five years.

Among them, 21 were seriously injured in 2007, 34 in 2008, 26 in 2009 and 18 in 2010 and 25 in 2011, while 160, 113, 103, 105 and 117 persons sustained minor injuries in the five years in road accidents during Dashain. Around 616 separate accidents were reported during Dashain in these five years with 184 accidents this year alone.

2007    2008    2009    2010    2011   

Total accidents- 99    Total accidents- 109    Total accidents- 115    Total accidents- 109    Total accidents- 184

Death- 6    Death- 8    Death-3    Death- 9    Death- 14

Seriously injured- 21    Seriously injured-34    Seriously injured- 26    Seriously injured- 18    Seriously injured- 25

Minor injuries- 160    Minor injuries- 113    Minor injuries- 103     Minor injuries- 105     Minor injuries- 117

Posted on: 2011-10-10 08:12

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