KAILALI, Sept 8: The District Traffic Police Office, Dhangadhi, has taken initiatives to place reflective belts around the necks and horns of stray cattle in response to a rising number of road accidents. The reflective belts will glow from a distance at night, so the number of road accidents will be reduced.

Police Inspector Deepak Malla, head of the District Traffic Police Office, said, “This initiative is aimed at enhancing driver safety during night time.” He added, “Apart from this, cows and bulls are being chased off the road.”

The 14.2 km road section from Mohanapur to Attariya in Dhangadhi has been upgraded into a 6-lane road. The wider six-lane road possesses a greater risk of accidents. A passenger has lost his life in a road accident on a six-lane road section due to stray cattle when the vehicle was traveling at a high speed.

A total of 12 people died and 29 people were injured in 24 road accidents on the Dhangadhi-Attariya road section of 14.2 km last fiscal year alone. Among them, nine people were killed when the vehicles collided with stray cattle. Similarly, there have been three road accidents since August till now of the current fiscal year. In these accidents, one person was injured after colliding with a stray cow.

Mahesh Kathayat, a local, says that since the Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City and Godavari Municipality, which are connected to the six-lane road, are unable to manage stray cattle, road accidents are increasing. "When traveling on a motorcycle on a six-lane road at night, black cows and bulls are not seen and road accidents occur," he said. Locals say that road accidents are caused by the negligence of both drivers and passengers, but most of the accidents are caused by stray cattle crossing the road and when cattle sitting on the road are not visible at night.

 
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