Tire Kanchha. Many people may laugh when they hear this name. However, if you know the deeds of Sant Bahadur Shrestha alias Tire Kanchha, you will want to respect him.

He has been on the banks of the Trishuli River in Tanahun for eight days. He has one goal, to remove the wreckage of the bus.

On June 28, 2002, two vehicles disappeared in the Trishuli River after a landslide from Simaltal, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29, Chitwan. The wreckage of one of the two has been found. He is engaged in excavating the remains of the Ganapati Deluxe.

The 62-year-old Kanchha has the energy of a young man. He has pitched two tents on the banks of the Trishuli River in Dongdrang, Abukhaireni Rural Municipality-5. Where his family members are also with him.

He starts work in a hurry. However, it is a big challenge to pull the Ganapati Deluxe bus, which is only half visible.

Whenever there is a vehicle accident on the Prithvi Highway, the search for a tire replacement begins. He has experience of removing vehicles from Gorkha, Lamjung, Nuwakot's Trishuli, West Nawalparasi, Makwanpur. He has 4 people who work regularly. He adds more people based on the need.

He has spent 40 years removing vehicles that have fallen into various places. The biggest challenge he has faced so far is here. 'The longest it has taken so far is 8 days, I used to remove excavators submerged in water and vehicles stuck on cliffs in 5/6 days, but it was very difficult here,' he said.

It has been 12 days since he started removing the Ganapati Deluxe bus that was buried in the sand on the banks of Trishuli. On the morning of Poush 10, Nepal Police tried to remove the sand with a shovel to pull out the vehicle, but when it was impossible, the Tanahun administration contacted Tire Kanchha.

He reached the spot the next day with a chain pulley. Since that day, despite continuous efforts, the vehicle has not been able to be pulled out. Tire Kanchha, who has been working day and night at the same place, said, "It was easy to pull out the excavator stuck in the water, but this is very difficult."

It is very difficult to bring equipment from the highway in Simatal to pull out the vehicle. Since there is no road, all the equipment has to be brought to the shore on foot. He says that this has added to the problem.

But he is grateful for the help he has received from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police. "I received a lot of help from the police. If I had not received their help, I would not have been able to do this work today," he said.

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When he was 6 months old, he learned from a villager that his mother had died. He did not even know that his father had passed away. After learning something, he took a job as a guard at the Western Gandaki Hospital in Pokhara. At that time, he started learning towing and tire making in the spare time of his job. After learning the job in Pokhara, he took a leave from his 4-year job and opened a tire shop in Damauli. Along with that job, he bought a chain pulley (car towing technology) for 3,000 rupees and started working on removing vehicles that had been in accidents. ‘When I bought a chain pulley and went to remove vehicles, I was very happy to get 3 to 5 thousand rupees,’ said the younger one, ‘later I would decide whether to make tires or go to remove vehicles.’

While doing this work, he purchased 4 aanas of land near the Byas Municipality-1 highway 16 years ago. He built a small hut there and started living there. With the earnings from this job, he is now building a one-and-a-half-storeyed house with two shutters in the same place. 'All my assets are from this job, that's why I had everything,' he is happy, 'I bought land, built a house, educated my son.'

With this earnings, he sent one of his daughters to Japan. He continues to work with his son Milan. He has also become a businessman by opening a company called 'Milan Chain Pulley' in his son's name. 'I have been able to buy everything I have now with the earnings from this job, I have not had to take any other loans,' he says.

Satisfied with his work, he is training his son to be a skilled person after him. Tire Kanchha, who is proud of having changed his identity through this job, is a familiar face to everyone in Damauli. ‘I have to go one day, I am teaching my son that he will keep my name,’ he says, satisfied with his profession, ‘I will do this work as long as I live and as long as I can.’

Another aspect that makes him happy about this profession is everyone’s love. Which he also received from others when his wife Balkumari was seriously ill. He remembers that when his wife, who was ill with high blood pressure, returned from the intensive care unit of the hospital for a long time and was treated, public representatives came to meet her. ‘The mayor, deputy mayor, and administration people of Vyas Municipality went to meet me in the hospital. I am an ordinary person who goes to pick up a vehicle, but I was very happy with their presence,’ he says.