Kathmandu, November 12
A fatal electric vehicle (EV) accident in Chisapani Gadhi along the Deurali road section of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality, Makwanpur, has raised serious questions about road safety, driver fatigue and the enforcement of transport regulations.
The vehicle, bearing registration number Madhesh Province 03-001 Ja 0880, plunged approximately 500 metres off the road at around 5:45 am on Thursday, killing 14 people at the scene and injuring six others.
The vehicle was travelling from Kathmandu to Sarlahi when the accident occurred.
According to Makwanpur Chief District Officer Basanta Adhikari, the vehicle had returned to Kathmandu from Sarlahi on Wednesday and began picking up passengers for its return journey from around 2 am on Thursday.
Adhikari told Onlinekhabar that the driver appeared to have had insufficient rest and sleep before beginning the journey.
“According to the injured passengers, the driver had been picking up passengers since 2 am. The vehicle had returned from Sarlahi on Wednesday. It appears the driver had not had enough rest or sleep. Since he started boarding passengers at 2 am, he must have woken up around 1 am,” Adhikari said.
The driver, around 30-year-old Ravi Shankar Kumar Mandal of Kabilasi Rural Municipality-8, Sarlahi, was among those killed. The other deceased passengers were from Sundarpur Tole in Chakraghatta Rural Municipality-4, Sarlahi.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Madhav Kafle, the deceased included 26-year-old Bikesh Yadav, 35-year-old Poonam Yadav, seven-year-old Diksha Yadav, five-year-old Dipika Yadav, 10-year-old Anu Kumari Yadav, approximately 35-year-old Guddu Yadav, 30-year-old Gayatri Devi, 25-year-old Ram Dular Yadav, 24-year-old Subodh Yadav and 15-year-old Rohan Yadav.
The accident has brought several road safety concerns into focus, including driver fatigue, increased passenger movement during festivals and the condition of roads.
According to injured passengers, the vehicle had stopped briefly at the accident site. When the driver restarted it and attempted to move forward, it reportedly went out of control and plunged down the hillside.
Injured passenger Mukesh Yadav said the vehicle fell while passengers were asleep. The injured also said that the passengers were from the same neighbourhood and were travelling home to celebrate the Chhath festival.
Police checkpoints had no passenger records
The absence of passenger records at police checkpoints has also emerged as a major concern following the accident.
Adhikari said authorities faced difficulties identifying the deceased because passenger details had not been updated at police checkpoints during the night. Even the Pharping police checkpoint had no record of the passengers travelling in the vehicle, he said.
The short Kathmandu-Hetauda route via Pharping, Fakhel and Kulekhani has several police checkpoints. These include checkpoints at Pharping and Fakhel, as well as police offices in Sisneri, Bhimphedi, Bhainse and Chaukitoal.
However, according to Adhikari, the details of the vehicle and its passengers had not been recorded at any of these police offices.
He also said that the time card system, which is intended to regulate vehicle operating times and speeds along the route, had not been implemented effectively.
The lack of proper monitoring, passenger records and adequate rest for drivers has raised questions about the effectiveness of existing road safety measures.
Mandatory passenger list requirement not enforced
The Vehicle and Transport Management Regulations, 1997, require public transport operators to maintain passenger records.
Rule 51(1) requires operators to prepare a passenger list in the prescribed format under Schedule 58. Rule 51(2) further requires the names of passengers boarding along the route to be added to the list.
The regulations also require operators to provide copies of the passenger list to police offices and checkpoints along the route.
However, there is no indication that a passenger list had been prepared for the vehicle involved in Thursday’s accident or that copies had been provided to the police checkpoints along the route.
The failure to implement this mandatory provision has also made it difficult for authorities to identify victims following the accident.
Demand for a separate police checkpoint at Deurali
The Bhimphedi-Deurali-Kulekhani road section is considered accident-prone. Adhikari said a separate police checkpoint should be established at Deurali Danda to improve monitoring and road safety.
Authorities had previously attempted to establish a checkpoint there, but the plan could not move forward due to a lack of available land, he said.
According to Adhikari, three major road accidents involving at least one fatality have occurred along the Deurali-Bhimphedi road section within the past year.
The latest accident has once again highlighted the need for effective enforcement of passenger record requirements, better monitoring at police checkpoints, adequate rest for long-distance drivers and stronger road safety measures, particularly during festival periods.
