Kathmandu. The Dhading Bus Accident Investigation Task Force has submitted its report to Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal.

The government had formed a task force to investigate the incident after a passenger bus (Ga 2 Kha 1421) en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara along the Prithvi Highway met with an accident on the bank of the Trishuli River at Benighat Rorang rural municipality-5 of Dhading on February 24.

Home Minister Aryal had formed a seven-member taskforce led by Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Rishiram Tiwari to investigate the incident and submit a report with recommendations as per the mandate to make the road transport safe, credible and reliable within a week. The committee submitted its report to the Home Minister today after carrying out the study for two weeks.

Senior Superintendent of Police Bhuwaneshwor Tiwari, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bharat Khaniya, Secretary of Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Kiran Kumar Khadka, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Nepal Police Bhuwaneshwor Tiwari, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bharat Khaniya, Secretary at the Ministry of Transport Entrepreneurs Kiran Kumar Khadka, Senior Superintendent of Road Transport Rakesh Maharjan, Director of Department of Transport Management Shreekanta Yadav and Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Brataraj Poudel are the members of the taskforce.

The task force has given its opinion on what, how, whose negligence or negligence seems to have happened in the incident and what relief can be provided to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in the incident. Likewise, it has studied the steps to be taken by various bodies to prevent such incidents in the coming days and has given an opinion to the government.

The taskforce has concluded that the accident took place after the driver failed to maintain effective control over the vehicle. Driver fatigue, night driving, and possible distraction were among the reasons for the accident.

The task force has recommended the government to immediately implement the fatigue management system of public vehicles, to implement maximum working time and compulsory rest for the drivers in night bus operation and to implement mandatory digital surveillance technology in public vehicles.

Receiving the report, Home Minister Aryal expressed his commitment to implement the report submitted by the taskforce at the earliest. At least 19 people were killed and 25 others injured in a bus accident in Dhading.