Dear Sajha friends, With your cooperation and support, I would like to dedicate this thread ONLY to RECORDING of the news (copy-paste style) related to highway accidents/deaths [in Nepal] that we regularly read on sites such as Nepalnews.com and Kantipuronline.com. We all know that highway deaths/accidents in Nepal are routinely COMMON yet so preventable. To my knowledge, no member of our civil society has ever led a julus, much less done anything, to make our highways safer. No donor agency of any kind funds any highway-related safety measures. Yet ordinary Nepalis, often anonymous and devoid of any insurance claims, continue to die unnecessarily on our highways, week after week. But before one gets carried away, first, let's try to establish whether we really have a serious problem at hand. To do that, as a mere beginning, let's spend the next four months (Oct 11 to Jan 10) to just post news (as it appears on either Nepalnews or Kantipuronline) about such accidents, and keep a running tally on the number of victims, and, then in January, see what conclusions we can draw for some possible public actions. ************************* Start date: Oct 11, 2004 End date: Jan 10, 2004 First item: ************************************************ Seven killed, 25 injured in a bus accident KOL Report KATHMANDU, Oct 11 - At least seven people were killed and 25 others injured when a passenger bus met with an accident in Tanahun district Monday afternoon. According to police, the bus bound to Pokhara from Narayanghat fell into Kumle River at Khairenitaar in Tanahun district killing five passengers on the spot this afternoon. Two others died while being rushed to Western Regional Hospital in Pokhara. The reason behind the accident is not yet known. Among the dead are five women and two men. Only two of them have been identified so far. Rescue operation is underway at the accident site. In a separate incident, a truck carrying Indian pilgrims met with an accident at Manhari along Mahendra Highway, injuring at least 30 people this afternoon. According to reports, the accident occurred when the truck on its way to Hetauda from Kathmandu tried to overtake a vehicle in the area. Four of the injured are reported to be critical condition and have been rushed to Bharatpur hospital in Chitwan. (dds) ***************************** TALLY: 7 killed; 25 injured.