Nepal Faces Significant Road Safety Challenges, Says Secretary Sigdel

Kathmandu. Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Gopal Prasad Sigdel, has stated that Nepal is far behind in terms of road safety. In a meeting of the Parliament's Development Committee held today, he said that there is a lack of necessary laws for road safety.

His statement indicated that the delay in the law-making process has hindered the effectiveness of road safety. According to him, the government is preparing to table the 'Road Safety Bill' in the current session of Parliament. He also informed that the road safety policy is in the final stages of discussion and will soon be presented for approval.

Secretary Sigdel mentioned that various provisions related to road safety are included in the National Transport Policy. He informed that after the act comes into implementation, a 'Road Safety Council' will be formed and assigned responsibilities related to road safety. Currently, the lack of a separate body overseeing road safety has led to problems in coordination and implementation, he stated.

Sigdel said that road safety is a multidimensional issue connected not only to traffic enforcement but also to education, infrastructure, and effective implementation. He also informed that the ministry is preparing to operate special programs on national highways by allocating a separate budget sub-heading for road safety.

He informed that the 'Road Safety Action Plan 2020-2030' is in implementation and that future programs will be advanced based on it. He also informed that an campaign to expand roads narrower than five to five and a half meters will be conducted. Informing that more than 350 chronic landslide areas on national highways have been identified, he mentioned that the problems in all these areas will be resolved within the next three to five years. He also informed that preparations are underway to install early warning systems in risky areas.

He informed that road accidents are also increasing due to reasons such as mobile phone use, music, and moving video advertisements. He stated that such issues need to be brought under legal purview. Mentioning that serious accidents are increasing due to roads constructed by local levels without technical standards, Secretary Sigdel said that some risky roads may even have to be closed.