Daunne Road expansion delay keeps accident rate high

By Bomlal Giri,Nawalpur, May 4: The Narayanghat-Butwal road expansion project has reached its final stage. The eastern section of Daunne, long considered difficult, has now seen one side completed with concrete paving.

According to the project, the western section of Daunne will also be connected with one-way concreting within the next 13 days, and the entire 113.53-kilometre stretch from Narayanghat to Butwal is expected to be fully paved and blacktopped on both sides within a month.

However, as the road expands, rising accidents have become a growing concern for traffic police. Recently, there has hardly been a day without an accident along this stretch. 

With 70 km upgraded to four lanes, 29 km expanded to four lanes with an additional 6-metre service track on each side and 14 km in the Daunne hill section widened to three lanes, accidents have increased due to excessive speed, according to the District Traffic Police Office.

Office chief, Police Inspector Kushal Kumar Bartaula, said that while an average of 45 people died annually in road accidents in Nawalpur in previous years, 49 people have already lost their lives and 97 have been injured in the current fiscal year up to mid-March.

Dan Bahadur Thapa, Superintendent of Police and head of the Gandaki Province Traffic Police Office, said that driver negligence, speeding and lack of traffic awareness among road users have increased the risk of accidents. He warned that fatalities could rise further in the coming days compared to previous years.

According to Thapa, national data over the past three years shows around 2,400 deaths and 32,000 injuries annually due to road accidents in the country. The data also indicates that individuals aged 15 to 30 are more frequently involved in accidents.

He said 60 to 80 per cent of accidents are caused by human factors such as speeding, alcohol or drug use, mobile phone use while driving, failure to wear helmets or seat belts, and overloading passengers and goods. Mechanical issues, road infrastructure and natural factors also contribute to accidents.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2016) aim to reduce deaths and injuries from road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030. However, rising accidents have made this target more challenging, said Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, adding that only collective efforts and caution can help achieve it.

Karki stressed the need to equip traffic police with modern technology and urged drivers not to rush into obtaining licences without proper training, warning against risking their own lives and those of others.

In Gandaki Province alone, around 180 people die and 700 are injured annually in road accidents, according to Thapa. Krishna Prasad Lamsal, Secretary at the Chief Minister’s Office, said the provincial government has taken the issue seriously and is working on measures to reduce accidents.

“The provincial government has entrusted me with preparing the first draft of next fiscal year’s policies and programmes, and I have tried to address road safety in it,” Lamsal said, adding that special programmes to strengthen traffic police capacity and technology support will be introduced.

The speed limit on the road ranges from 40 to 80 km per hour, depending on the section. According to Chief Engineer Chudaraj Dhakal of the Narayanghat-Butwal Road Project Directorate, the limit is set at 80 km/h on straight and flat sections, and 60 km/h in market areas and crossing points.

On the approximately 14-kilometre uphill stretch of Daunne between Dumkibas and Bardaghat, vehicles are restricted to a maximum speed of 40 km/h. Accordingly, speed limit signs of 80, 60 and 40 km/h are being installed along the road, with yellow markings on the edges and white lane markings in the centre.

As this road is a major east–west corridor, it experiences heavy traffic. With the expansion making it wider, accidents have increased due to speeding, lane indiscipline, unsafe overtaking and mechanical failures, police said.