Roads In Nepal are Ungoverned and Dangerous

Roads in Nepal are ungoverned 

and dangerous

(This month has been sad and mournful for tragic deaths in road accidents. In Gulmi accident 13 people died. Karnali Highway Accident claimed  28 lives. In another accident in Karnali 4 people have disappeared in Karnali river. Beside this, people in small numbers are dyeing every day here and there.

I write this in memory of all those who have died painful and tragic deaths in  ill –fated road accidents in Nepal.)

Fatal road accidents are always disturbing. I have always enjoyed traveling by road because of my love for nature and landscapes.Therefore, the danger around traveling by roads in Nepal has always been a concern to me.

I did not enjoy it much when I had to travel by public vehicles in the beginning. I could not trust the roads and the public vehicles then and I do not trust them now, however, I started enjoying road journey more after I owned a car. Nevertheless, I always think of other people who have to undertake road  journeys by public vehicles. I believe many of the travelers share my apprehension towards traveling by road on public transport.

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Deaths on roads are utterly meaningless. Each road death is sudden and a complete destruction of many human and social relations. It leaves behind a void which can never be fulfilled.

Road deaths add to anguish and pain when one does not come to know the causes of the death and those who are responsible for accidents are rarely convicted by law.

For each and every road accident many are responsible, not just the driver. However, our social, administrative and legal- judicial system does not acknowledge this. It does not acknowledge that a flawed system is responsible as well. Therefore, accidents are mostly taken as fateful incidents! 

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Nearly 30 years ago, there were not many roads in Nepal. But people traveled then too. People, however, did not die on roads in the same number and proportion as they are dying now. Many roads are supposedly better. But the number of accidents have increased dramatically. Systematic record of the accidents underpinning the causes is rarely kept.   The unfortunate consequences of the ill fated accidents on most occasions are bargained and negotiated monetarily, ignoring the laws. Many are involved in the negotiations. Those who block the roads after accidents are also involved in the deal. There are other unseen actors too.

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Negotiations work for compromises and solutions but solutions cover up many truths. They cover crime against the public too. And corruption is always associated with covering the crime. Thus, it is not without reason that the attitude of the state officials has remained callous towards road accidents.

In the backdrop of state's indifference, the overwhelming majority of powerless people take accidents as  an un-escapable and inevitable incidences of destiny. Therefore, road accidents have not become a serious political issue in Nepal.  

Transport system after 1990 political change

After the political change in 1990, transport policy underwent change with introduction of liberal economic policies. Privatization of public transport vehicles was allowed. Thus a crucial part of the service sector, which touches upon the lives of almost hundred per cent of the population went into the hands of the profit seekers. New pockets of profit brought power seekers and profit seekers closer. In course of time, new forces also emerged. Yatayat samitis (transport committees) of the owners of the vehicles sprung up in numbers all over the country.

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The powerful  Yatayat samitis are  the strong arms of the political  parties on the roads.  The samitis  are monopolistic and hegemonic in nature. So liberalization and monopolization have gone hand in hand. Government owned  Sajha buses gradually  stopped plying on the road. Nepal's Public Transport system is unique, a curious case where  liberalization and unofficial mopolization  (unofficial nationalization!)  go hand in hand.   Thus the yatayat samitis  govern the road with the aid of public officials. In case of accidents, the state emerges merely as the facilitator or negotiator.   Public investment poured into the transport sector after 1990. With increasing number of public buses, power of the yatayat samitis  also grew but at the cost of state's power. State has become the most   feeble organization on the road now. It is primarily due to the symbiotic and organic relationship between the profit seekers and the power seekers that the roads have become dangerous in Nepal.  

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Government privatized ownership of public vehicles after 1990   but did not increase governance in other related areas. When one part of the  service sector went into the hands of private sector, then state should have taken other measures to increase robust  regulation of roads and vehicles to ensure  safety and security of  common people traveling on roads. But that has not happened

It is ironic that privatization policy for  ownership of public vehicles was introduced in the year 2046 but archaic traffic rules, license delivery rules and transport rules are still in operation. The CDOs give permission to open road routes on the recommendation of the yatayat samitis without any certification about the readiness of roads from Dept of roads and Transport management ministry. There is no coordination between the CDOs, traffic police and Dept. of roads about the maintenance of highways and other roads. Often potholes on highways are causes of accidents. But regular maintenance of roads is not a priority of the government. The Govt in Kathmandu is obsessed and occupied by the idea of developing infrastructure in roads but constructions of  more roads and an increase in the number of vehicles has not  enhanced the value of lives and liberty of  common citizens. Our transport management system is full of anomalies. It is no surprise that the Road transport sector has become anarchic and chaotic.

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Building of roads supposedly  is a sign of development. But value of development must be measured in terms of its effects upon human lives and security. Rising number of fatal road accidents shows  that development in the transport sector over the decades have not produced all positive results. So time has come to question the development or lack of development   in   transport management system.

The challenges from the perspective of policy change and reform  is much more serious than it looks. The ministry of labor and transport used to get merely 0.23 or 0.24 per cent of the total budget and  it  has been  viewed as a ministry that is merely responsible for collecting revenues by registering vehicles and issuing licenses. So it is not clear which ministry looks after the safety and security of people traveling by roads.

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When I became the minister of Labor and transport management, I had a better  opportunity to look at the different dimensions of the Transport management system and road accidents. On assuming the office, I instituted  a committee to investigate into the causes of  the ill fated accidents in Sindhuli, Sunsari and Jankpur. A large number of  people had died in those  tragic accidents. Those accidents  had happened before I took over the charge of the office.
The members on the committee included representatives  from the Ministry of Transport management, the Ministry of  Physical construction, the Ministry of home , the Traffic dept and the dept of  roads. The report  submitted  by the committee was made public and the recommendations of the report were sent  to all the concerned ministries and departments for their attention and action. Probably the report was also discussed in some   parliamentary committee.

In my understanding,  there is not much space for the transport ministry to initiate and carry reforms to make roads safer. Road transport management system is  a cross cutting issue and is related with work of other ministries too. As per the existing laws, there is  no  proper mechanism under the ministry of transport management to coordinate with other ministries. There is one secretary level mechanism but it is only on paper.  In my opinion, it is not functional because  it lacks political leadership.

In terms of hierarchy ,the secretary of home ministry and physical development ministry are regarded as more senior or heavy weight  than the secretary of ministry of Transport management. So I took initiative to institute a committee headed by transport Management Minister, which should include high level  representation of other concerned ministries to carry on the reform process. A proposal was ready on my table to be taken to the cabinet.  But I could not complete the work!

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