Road safety in Nepal is much talked about but less acted upon. It needs to change

There is little doubt that roads are arteries of development and can add to the overall quality of citizens’ lives. Sadly, if you talk about public roads in Nepal—national highways, strategic road networks, city roads, feeder roads, district roads, or rural roads—most of them have been clogged and turned into perils. Further, countless potholes , poor drainage system s, yawning ditches, a number of mismanaged manholes and sinkholes as well as other road-related infrastructural breakdowns have perennially added to the public woes.

When such hazardous roads become appallingly muddy and camouflaged with water puddles during the monsoon, they can twist human ankles and topple zigzagging motor vehicles. It is extremely onerous to navigate such perilous streets and wrecked pavements. Indeed, Nepali public roads are distressingly posing manifold threats to the lives of commuters whereas children, differently-abled and elderly people are among the hardest hit. Therefore, such perilous roads and road-related infrastructures require the serious attention of the concerned agencies of the government in order to identify the root causes and mitigate their potential costs.