Build a parallel road across Trishuli, reduce the suffering of Wari

One month ago, bodies of 20 people who went missing when two buses were swept away by a landslide in Simaltal on the Muglin-Narayangadh road have been found, 44 people including the bus are missing. Similarly, if we take the data of the week, month or year, the details of deaths, disappearances and injuries are shocking. In the last 10 years, more than 160,000 road accidents resulted in more than 24,000 deaths. More than 51,000 people were seriously injured in the accident. There is no data on the separation, trauma and economic, mental and social stress of the family members created by the accident. The message of the available data is clear - road accidents have become an 'epidemic' in Nepal and no meaningful prevention initiatives have been taken. Although the

accident itself is an unexpected process, it has its own background. Road accidents mainly have three backgrounds, technical weakness of the vehicle, poor condition of the road infrastructure or human error of the driver. All these three issues are not out of control situations and can be remedied. The technical aspect of the vehicle can be regulated through regular inspection passes. For this, policy reform, monitoring or incentive initiatives can be useful.

Likewise, driver skills and human emotion can also be improved through monitoring and encouragement. But improving road conditions requires long-term planning and continuous financial investment. As eager as the state of Nepal is in road construction, it is indifferent to the quality. Narrow, winding and steep roads built without adequate engineering studies have become major causes of accidents. Landslides that occur suddenly due to meteorological reasons on roads built without geological study and preparation have also increased accidents. This is the main reason for accidents in winter.

Road safety is not an optional subject, it is a mandatory duty. For this, the safety audit report of all roads currently in operation should be made public. Poor roads should be regularly maintained. Improvements should be made according to where and what weaknesses are there in such roads. A system should be developed to give immediate early warning to drivers and passengers on such roads about obstructions caused by landslides. Unmaintained rural roads require more maintenance.

If the traffic volume is high but the quality of the highway is deteriorating, accidents can be controlled if regular improvements can be made. Secondly, it is necessary to adopt modern safety standards while constructing new roads. Even if roads can be constructed by analyzing the geographical structure, weather effects, current and future traffic pressure, etc., which seems to be our originality, the accident rate can be reduced.

It is also risky for technical, economic and geological reasons to build wide roads in mountainous terrain. Roads like Nagadhunga-Narayangadh, which are very busy, have been blocked and upgraded for years, and millions of passengers in thousands of vehicles are stranded daily. As an alternative, the possibility of constructing a parallel alternative road has also been studied.

Such parallel roads will help to minimize accidents, jams and any other obstacles on the old roads. As the East-West Highway is the main road connecting the capital Kathmandu, the Nagadhunga-Narayangadh road has been facing heavy traffic. However, due to frequent landslides, accidents, traffic jams and regular maintenance, another road is required to be parallel to the Nagadhunga-Narayangadh road section.

A parallel road across Trishuli is not an empty hope, as it is technically possible, a detailed study report was prepared six years ago to build a parallel road along the Naubise-Muglin road. At that time, 94.66 km of Nagadhunga-Muglin, 12.4 km of Cisne-Dharke and 15.3 km of Vishaltar-Fisling section were studied in detail. According to the report prepared with the support of the World Bank, the bank was also ready to construct the road.

However, the report has been kept in the drawer of the road department for 6 years. The government has not proceeded with the construction of the road because of the need to pay more compensation for the construction of alternative roads. Instead, the old road is gradually being upgraded. Currently, the construction work of the road has not progressed, nor has the road been made safe. The need for alternative roads has increased as accidents are happening, people are losing property, and people are facing harassment due to road blocks.