KATHMANDU, July 15: Road accidents involving tippers have continued unabated in the capital. Barely five days after the death of a motorcyclist by a tipper at Jadibuti, another tipper hit a motorcycle at Soltimode, killing an 18-year-old pillion rider on Saturday.
Pillion rider Anuja Ghimire succumbed to her injuries after the tipper heading to Kalanki hit the motorcycle which was heading in the same direction.
Motorcycle rider Anuj Ghimire, 20, the brother of Anuja, sustained injuries to his hands and legs.
Anuja, who was seriously injured during the accident, died while undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. She was rushed to Vayodha Hospitals for treatment but she succumbed to injuries almost an hour after reaching the hospital, according to Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, SP Surendra Mainali.
Reckless driving of tippers blamed for increasing road mishaps
Police have impounded the tipper and taken its thirty-year-old driver, Raj Kumar Tamang, of Laitpur under custody. Following the accident, enraged pedestrians had attempted to vandalize the tipper but the attempt was foiled due to police intervention, SP Mainali said.
“The tipper had hit the motorcycle from behind. We cannot say if the tipper's negligence led to the accident. We are still investigating the matter,” SP Mainali said.
Five days ago, Royal Subedi was killed after a tipper hit him at Jadibuti. Similarly, on June 13, a woman had lost her life in a similar accident involving tipper at Jadibuti. Asmita Rajbhandari had died on the spot after the tipper hit her scooter. Enraged by her death, the locals had set the tipper on fire.
According to the MPTD, the Kathmandu Valley recorded a total of 108 accidents since mid-June. Of them, there was the involvement of tippers in over 40 accidents. Lately, road accidents involving tippers have mainly increased along Suryabinayak-Koteshwar road section of Arniko Highway in Bhaktapur district but similar accidents have also taken place in Lalipur and Kathmandu, MPTD said.
Due to a spate of deaths along the Suryabinayak-Koteshwar road section, mainly of motorcyclists, in accidents involving tippers, the District Administration Office, Bhaktapur as per the direction of the Home Ministry had recently imposed a time limit to restrict the mobility of tippers and other cargo vehicles along the road during rush hours. The ban came into effect from last Wednesday. All tippers and cargo vehicles are prohibited from plying the road section between 8 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 8 pm every day.
A similar restriction should have been imposed in Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts, argues SP Mainali.
“All the three district administration offices of the Kathmandu Valley had agreed to impose restriction on tippers' mobility during a meeting at the Home Ministry. Bhaktapur immediately imposed the restriction but Lalitpur and Kathmandu are yet to make similar move,” SP Mainali said.
According to SP Mainali, the MTPD is preparing to make it compulsory for heavy vehicles to ply only on the left side of the two-lane road and allow light vehicles including motorcycles and cars on the right side of road in the Valley from Tuesday. “The new measure is being introduced after road accidents involving heavy vehicles including tippers have been increasing,” SP Mainali said.
