“Youth for Road Safety” programme in Sudurpashchim

Kathmandu: “Youth for Road Safety”, a programme to promote active participation and leadership of youth in the field of road safety, began in Sudurpashchim from November 1 in Dhangadhi.

The event, held under the Voice of the for Safe and Sustainable Mobility initiative, marked the first Sudurpashchim provincial session. 

Around 60 participants, including youth campaigners, riders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and students of engineering, management, and tourism, participated in the event.

Kiran Dhital, Coordinator of Youth for Road Safety in Nepal, gave a presentation on “The Need and Importance of Youth Voices in Road Safety”, discussing in detail the state of road safety in the province, the role of youth, leadership, and collaboration among government bodies.

Anil Baral, Vice President of the Nepal Automobiles Association (NASA Nepal), made a presentation on Motorsports and Road Safety, stating that improvement in road safety is impossible without the participation of athletes and the youth community.

Executive Vice President of the Province Youth Council, Gajendra Saud, expressed his commitment to mobilise youth to contribute to provincial road safety and showed readiness to cooperate with NASA Nepal.

Similarly, Member Secretary of the Province Sports Council, Lal Bahadur Khadka, emphasised that “a road safety campaign through athletes is a very important initiative” and pledged continued collaboration with the Youth for Road Safety in Nepal campaign.

The Sudurpashchim Automobiles Association organized the program in collaboration with the Nepal Automobiles Association (NASA Nepal), and in coordination with the Sudurpashchim Province Youth Council and the Province Sports Council. It was chaired by Pushkar Ojha, President of the Sudurpashchim Automobiles Association. The event was jointly inaugurated by Gajendra Saud, Executive Vice President of the Sudurpashchim Province Youth Council, and Lal Bahadur Khadka, Secretary of the Sudurpashchim Province Sports Council.

Also present were speakers from various sectors, including Prakash Chand, Secretary of the Kailali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Trilok Pandey, President of the Karate Federation of Sudurpashchim.

At the end of the event, a Road Safety Working Group was formed among the participating youth, which plans to launch a Safe Travel Campaign across Sudurpashchim in the coming days. 

The group’s coordinator, Trilok Pandey, committed to initiatives such as Star Rating Schools, Road Safety Motivator Training, Online Road Safety Courses, and lobbying in related policy-making.

Govinda Bhattarai, Executive Director of NASA Nepal, with support from Yamaha Racing Nepal facilitated the event. Youth from all eight districts of Sudurpashchim and even from Karnali Province participated.

This kind of programme is being conducted nationwide under the Safe and Sustainable Mobility Support Project of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), with the collaboration of the FIA Foundation, NASA Foundation, and Motoring Nepal, according to a press statement by NASA Nepal.