KATHMANDU, Nov 4: Cycle lovers and civil society members paid tribute to the deceased cyclist Shyam Sundar Shrestha on Saturday through a condolence ceremony organized in front of Laboratory School at Kirtipur.
Last Saturday, Shrestha was riding his cycle along the Kiritpur road when he fell into a manhole which was left open by Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and consequently died. People hold the gross negligence by KUKL and the Project Implementation Directorate of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project Office responsible for such regrettable incidents. But the authorities concerned are hesitant to take any remedial action.
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At the program, Shyam Sundar Shrestha's elder sister Subhadra Shrestha said that the program came as a relief at a time when the authorities concerned are turning a blind eye to the incident. “The government authorities have just been ignoring the incident and delaying the post-mortem too,” she said, “We need everyone's help to make sure that the government authorities don't deceive us.”
Similarly, senior advocate Sunil Ranjan Singh pledged help to make the authorities concerned answerable in this type of public cases. “Legally, these cases are the cases of public importance,” he said, “The authorities concerned should be answerable in such cases.”
Cycle activist Ratna Shrestha asked how long the citizens would have to live under the risk of falling into potholes and manholes, claiming that the culprits behind the accident are the government authorities concerned. “The accident was a sensitive one and the public and the authorities concerned should handle the case with sensitivity,” he said.
The condolence program was marked by a floral tribute to Shrestha. It was attended by representatives from Cycle City Network Nepal, Nepal Cycle Society, Nepal Institute of Justice, other cycling associations of the valley and civil society members.
