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By Our Reporter

Road accidents have been on the constant rise across Nepal in recent weeks. When the wounds of the Simaltal accident, in which two passenger buses were swept away by a landslide into the Trishuli at Simaltal in Chitwan on July 12 were not healed, an Indian bus carrying 43 passengers plunged into the Marsyangdi in Tanahun on Friday last week killing 27 of the passengers.

Several of the 62 missing bodies and the two buses of the Simaltal accident have not been found yet.

The ill-fated Indian bus with registration number UP 53 FT 7623, carrying 43 passengers, which had departed from Pokhara for Kathmandu, fell into the Marshyangdi River near Ainapahara on Friday morning.

Sixteen passengers who were seriously injured in the accident were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment via a helicopter of the Nepali Army, while the bodies of 27 were taken to India by an aircraft of the Indian Air Force from Bhartapur Airport on Saturday.

Of course, not a single day passes without fatal road accidents involving buses and jeeps, not to talk about motorcycles.

There are traffic police and rules to maintain discipline. But sadly, most drivers tend to violate the rules. Moreover, the traffic police deployed along roads are accused of harassing the commuters instead of facilitating the movements. When licenses are sold or are fake, the vehicles driven by drivers possessing the fake licenses often meet accidents. In the case of the accident of the Indian bus, it seems the driver had no experience of driving on hilly roads with several bends. Road conditions also lead to accidents.

Therefore, the government should seriously work to correct shortcomings which invite frequent road accidents in Nepal.