Engineers call for harmonised 'Road Standards'

Kathmandu, Feb. 16: Engineers and stakeholders Friday urged the government to formulate harmonised ‘Nepal Road Standards’ considering the safety standards in all types of roads, including the urban roads. 

The country doesn’t have urban road guidelines, therefore there is no uniformity in road and footpath construction. The recent row over the design and upgrading of the Ring Road is the result of this, said Hare Ram Shrestha, president of the Nepal Engineers’ Association (NEA). 

Engineers demanded the establishment and operation of full-fledged Road Safety Council in the country and claimed that such council would solve most of the problems related to roads. 

The stakeholders announced a 17-point resolution, formulated on the basis of the deliberations and recommendations at the National Road Safety Conference held in Kathmandu on January 21 and 22. 

Urging to adopt ‘universal design’ concept while designing the road infrastructure so that it could accommodate road users of all capacity particularly the most vulnerable groups, the resolution has appealed to the government to develop and implement standard road safety audit guidelines. 

Although the Department of Roads has the guidelines for the four-tier audit of road construction and operation, its implementation is very poor.

It has expressed serious concerns over the delay in submitting the Road Safety Bill in the Parliament and urged the government for the follow-up. 

Similarly, the resolution requests the Ministry of Education to consider incorporating basic road safety awareness education materials in school curricula. 

It also urged the government to consider implementing the system of certification for roadworthiness of all motorised vehicles in the existing fleet and introducing Nepal Vehicle Assessment Programme in the country, and to reinstate and revive National Trauma Centre to fulfil its original purpose as a level one trauma centre in the nation. 

The engineers have also demanded establishment of  a robust and well-functioning post-crash response management system with the Ministry of Home Affairs as the lead agency. 

Laxman KC, Managing Director of Executive Consulting Engineers and Planners, said that more than six people die in road accidents every day, and urgent actions were needed to prevent it. 

The conference was attended by NEA, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Health, Department of Roads, Department of Transport Management, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads, Roads Board Nepal, Traffic Police, Non-Resident Nepalese Association, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal, Youth Community of Nepalese Contractors and Safe and Sustainable Travel Nepal, and many experts from the country and abroad.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 February 2018.