Kalanki Pathao accident case: Will families of deceased individuals get compensation?

KATHMANDU, November 17: Two individuals, the rider and the service seeker, died in a Pathao (online ride sharing platform) Scooter accident at Kalanki on Tuesday evening.

A bus hit the scooter near Khasi Bazzar killing Ram Bahadur Acharya, 35 (the rider) and Yadav Kumar Shah, 52 (the customer).

This is the first such case in which the rider and customer have lost their lives in the Pathao accident in Kathmandu. The Pathao company will now have to pay compensation to families of deceased people. 

According to the Nepal-based Pathao Office, the discussions are underway to provide compensation to family members of deceased individuals.

According to Suraksha Hamal, marketing manager of  the Nepal-based Pathao Office, family members of deceased Acharya and Shah will be provided a compensation amount of Rs 500,000 each.

“The company has a policy of providing Rs 100,000 to those getting injured in similar types of incidents,” Hamal further stated.

According to the Traffic Police Division, the bus (Pra-301005 Kha 9300) overtook the Scooter from the wrong direction which caused the accident.

Deceased Acharya, who was riding the scooter, had recently returned from South Korea. He was in South Korea for five years for employment.

The bus driver, Sumak Karki is currently in police custody. Karki is associated with Om Janata Yatayat Pvt. Ltd. 

The bodies of the deceased have been kept in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj for postmortem.

Basanta Kuwar, friend of deceased Acharya shared that the bus operator is not willing to pay compensation citing that the driver operated the bus on his own on the day of ‘Nepal Banda.’