Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has asked all to contribute to addressing the heart-wrenching situation caused by road accidents. Inaugurating the ‘Road Safety and Traffic Awareness Week-2080 BS’, a joint initiation by the Valley Traffic Police Office and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City amidst a program in the capital on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister said road safety is not just the concern of traffic police. “It is equally the concern of drivers and others, as well.” He urged everyone to take responsibility for ensuring safe travel and emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to alleviate the persistent issue of traffic congestion in the Kathmandu Valley. DPM Shrestha said the government will come up with an additional scheme to motivate the traffic police to achieve that goal. The Minister expressed concern about the significant human casualties and physical damages resulting from road accidents over the past one decade. “The data about road casualties in the past 10 years is alarming,” he said. He reiterated that it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to address this situation.
He also stressed the need of enhancing road quality, ensuring that vehicles are well-maintained and conditioned, and increasing awareness among drivers and the public to promote road safety and minimize accident rates. Inspector General of Police, Basanta Kunwar, stressed the need for stronger cooperation between the Nepal Police and relevant authorities to effectively manage traffic system. According to him, factors such as growing urbanization, inadequate road infrastructure, increased traffic flow, human errors, environmental issues, and technical challenges contribute to the rising number of road accidents in the country. Senior artist Hari Bansha Acharya stressed the need for the government to invest in public transport for the convenience of general people. He lauded the traffic police for their good management of traffics despite narrow roads, disorderly parking and heavy traffic in the Kathmandu Valley. Chief District Officer Jitendra Basnet said the traffic management has been chaotic due to failure to designate a safe place for staging protests. Calling for the concerned authorities to pay attention to construct the international level road infrastructure, he said the role of traffic police is important in reducing road accidents and managing traffic. Similarly, Basanta Adhikari, chief administrative officer of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, informed that the KMC had set aside Rs 340 million for the improvement of the transport sector in Kathmandu.
Uddhav Prasad Rijal, director general of the Department of Transport Management, stressed the need for creating awareness among drivers and passengers to reduce traffic accidents. The Department is working in coordination with the provincial and local governments to manage vehicles, he said. Likewise, Saroj Sitaula, senior vice president of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, commended the role of traffic police in reducing traffic accidents. Traffic awareness and training for drivers, transport workers and passengers is a must to reduce road accidents, he said emphasizing that the government should pay attention to improving road infrastructures. Poshraj Pokharel, Deputy Inspector General of Police at the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, said it is not possible to manage traffic with the efforts of the traffic police alone and sought cooperation and responsible role of all concerned agencies for road safety and traffic management.
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