BUTWAL, March 23: Overloaded and speedy tippers have messed up traffic management in Butwal giving rise to road fatalities.
More than 200 heavy tippers carry limestone from mines in Palpa to cement factories based in Rupandehi and Nawalparasi districts on a daily basis. Normally, they make two trips but sometimes they carry the raw material for cement even three times a day. It is believed that the double shift of work compels the drivers to run their vehicle in high speed otherwise it is impossible to complete their work.
According to Safe Journey Campaign Nepal's promoter Narayan Adhikari, the speedy overloaded tippers have made the roads unsafe for pedestrians as well as other vehicles.
Over loaded, speedy tippers causing road fatalities in Butwal
“The number of vehicles running in roads is already high and these tippers are making the roads more unsafe,” said Adhikari.
Traffic Police in Butwal has concluded that the reason behind increasing number of accidents is the over-speeding of the tippers. Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Hari Sharma, chief of Butwal Police, informed that they have had meetings with the tipper owners urging them to control the speed and reduce the load to lessen accidents. According to him, they will also be consulting with the drivers too in the near future.
On March 18, 2011 two workers of Milanchowk lost their life after being crushed by a tipper. As per the police, high speed of the tipper was the reason for the accident. Minor accidents involving the tippers are common in roads. Last year, police had taken control of over two dozen tippers for overloading.
Those tippers were sent to the Transport Management Office for punishment. However, no action was taken against them.
Traffic police have accused political parties and entrepreneurs for interfering in their duty to monitor the unregulated movement of the tippers. Police claim that they have not been able to perform their duty properly due to undue pressure from the parties and entrepreneurs.
