Koteshwor-Balkhu stretch is risky
Lack of dividers, traffic signals and limited zebra crossing three top reasons of accidents
KATHMANDU, July 22: Two children, Yunika and Sujita Giri, 15 and 16 years old respectively sustained minor injuries after a bus they were on overturned after hitting a culvert’s edge near Ekantakuna yesterday.
The children sustained minor injuries and are undergoing treatment at Patan Hospital. The bus’s driver is at large, according to Purna Rayamajhi, constable at Jawlakhel Traffic Police.
“The vehicle was travelling from Satdobato when it overturned after hitting a culvert of the under construction road in Ekantakuna.”
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With the eight lane highway, accidents long the Koteshwor-Balkhu stretch has increased significantly, especially among two wheelers, according to Sitaram Hachhetu, Chief of Lalitpur Traffic Department. “There have been 392 vehicle accidents in that particular stretch last year. The accidents killed 12 people and injured 243 so far.”
According to Hachhetu, three major reasons of increasing accidents in the stretch include absence of divider, lack of traffic signals and limited zebra crossing.
“The Chinese side has said that they’d install dividers and bridges only after the construction completes. Until then, travelling on the Koteshwor-Balkhu stretch is a risky affair,” Hachhetu said.
“However, haphazard road crossing by pedestrians is also becoming an important challenge,” Hachhetu said. As precautionary measures, the Traffic Chief said that they had organized programs to aware pedestrians and bus drivers.
File Photo/Republica
