Kathmandu,. Once again the havoc of speed has been seen on the hilly roads of Nepal. At least seven Indian pilgrims were killed in a horrific road accident in Gorkha district on Saturday evening. This tragic incident occurred when devotees were returning after visiting the famous Manakamana temple. According to information received from the local police, an electric microbus carrying devotees lost control in Kantar area of Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality, skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge.
Confirming the incident, Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Shrestha of Gorkha District Police Office said that seven other devotees were seriously injured in the accident. The rescue team, with the help of local people, pulled out the injured from the ditch, who were sent to Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur in Chitwan district for immediate treatment. According to officials, there were more than a dozen passengers in the microbus, due to which there was a possibility of the number of casualties increasing. Gorkha Chief District Officer Tulsi Bahadur Shrestha said that the vehicle was going westwards from Mankamana Temple towards Anbukhaireni area of Tanahun district. However, complete information regarding the destination of the passengers is not yet clear. Police are still investigating the exact cause of the accident, but prima facie, the driver losing control at a sharp turn of the hilly road is believed to be the cause of the accident. It is noteworthy that this is not the first major accident to happen to Indian pilgrims in this area of Nepal. Earlier in August 2024 also, 27 Indian pilgrims lost their lives in a bus accident near Anbukhaireni.
Nepal has seen an alarming increase in road accident figures in recent years. According to Nepal Traffic Police data, the number of accidents has increased from 4,999 in the last decade to 7,669 in the financial year 2024-25. A World Bank report states that the economic loss from these accidents has reached approximately 1.5 percent of Nepal’s total gross national product (GNP). Rough mountain roads, poor vehicle conditions and lack of safety standards pose a major threat to vulnerable road users and foreign tourists in Nepal.
