According to government data, nearly 24,000 people died on Nepal’s roads in the last decade.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Death of 27 Indian pilgrims in a bus accident at Abu Khaireni in central Nepal on Friday has once again put the spotlight on the poor road safety record of the country which is already battling criticism over poor air safety. Concerns are growing that frequent accidents could hit the country’s tourism sector.
The bus, en route from tourist town of Pokhara to the capital Kathmandu, carrying 43 passengers, all from Maharashtra, veered off the highway and plunged into the Marsyangdi river.
Police said 26 people were killed on the spot while one succumbed to injury during treatment in Chitwan. The accident took place at around 11 in the morning. A Nepal Army helicopter airlifted 16 other injured to Kathmandu.
Nepal’s Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Khadse, visited the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon to take stock of the health condition of the injured.
“Met 16 Indian nationals who were injured in the road accident yesterday and currently undergoing treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital,” Ms. Khadse said on X on Saturday afternoon. She was accompanied by Nepal’s Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak.
Just last month, mudslides swept two passenger buses into the Trishuli river. At least 59 people were killed, including seven Indians.
Unsafe roads
Road accidents in Nepal are so common that many have stopped calling them “accidents”, just as there has been a public outcry with people calling them “murder on the roads.”
Aashish Gajurel, a transportation and traffic professional, said Nepal’s roads are extremely unsafe for multiple reasons, including that a majority of road sections do not even fulfil the basic engineering criteria.
Except for in the plains, Nepal’s winding highways are built by slicing parts of mountains, making them susceptible to landslips.
“Boulders often roll down Nepali mountains and during monsoon, mudslides are common, which make Nepal’s mountain highways even riskier,” said Mr. Gajurel. “Also, our roads are not technology-friendly. For example, had there been roadside barriers along the highway, probably the bus carrying the Indian pilgrims might not have plunged into the river.”
According to government data, nearly 24,000 people died on Nepal’s roads in the last one decade. But there is a lack of will at the political level to investigate these accidents, while accountability never becomes an issue. Despite being too common and killing too many people, road accidents do not get as much attention as plane crashes get.
“And Nepal has failed to prevent both road and air accidents,” said Mr. Gajurel, adding that such lack of accountability can have a profound impact on the country’s tourism sector.
Setback for tourism
Nepal, a country with a struggling economy, is a straggler in manufacturing and exports, hence it heavily banks on tourism.
And Indians account for the highest number of visitors. In 2023, more than 10,00,000 tourists visited Nepal by air, and data shows one third of them were from India. The actual number of Indians visiting Nepal could be much higher because there is no proper record-keeping of those who enter Nepal overland through various border points.
Tourism industry insiders said Friday’s accident may have a huge impact on Indian arrivals.
“It is obviously a very serious issue. The message that nothing is safe – neither air nor road – will stick to the traveller,” said Ashoke Pokharel, Director of Shangri La Tours Pvt. Ltd.
In January last year, four Indians were among the 72 killed in the Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara.
The number of visitors from India this year was expected to rise as 6,50,000 foreign visitors have already arrived in Nepal as of July 31, with Indians accounting for close to one-third of the total.
Tourism industry experts say the recent crashes could bring the numbers down.
“There obviously will be some blowback, especially in the next few days and weeks while the news cycle plays out,” said Mr. Pokharel.
