Jhapa, January 2
Scooter rider Laxmi Saha, 33, died when a loaded truck hit her scooter on Paliya Bridge at Mechinagar-6 along the under-construction Asian Highway on Thursday night. The truck (PB 02 BR 7765) had hit the scooter (Pr 1–01–013 P 5888) while she was on the way from Kakadbhitta to Birtamod. Information officer at the District Police Office, Khagendra Bahadur Khadka, shared that Saha, a local of Mechinagar–6, was critically injured in the accident.
She was immediately taken to Mechi AMDA Hospital in Dhulabari for treatment, where the doctors declared her dead, Khadka further informed. The police took control of 36-year-old truck driver Sandeep Singh from Punjab, India, and held him at the local police office.
The public has complained about the distress caused due to the haphazard diversion on the under-construction Asian Highway and the uneven road. On the evening of December 20, 2025, two young people died in a motorcycle accident at a diversion near Buttawari Tea Garden in Birtamod–6.
The public has also complained about not properly placing and maintaining diversion and signposts, and the unmanaged road conditions on the Kankadbhitta–Birtamod section along the highway. Journalist Sabitra Dahal from Kankai-6 and Evan Luintel from Mechinagar-9 said that they met with an accident on the highway due to poor diversion. Dahal and Luintel have recently returned home after recovering their health following a long hospital stay
