Kathmandu. A team of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs of Nepal met with Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal and apprised him of the damage caused by the floods in the transport sector and the condition of the missing trucks, containers, drivers and workers.
FNCCI President Rajendra Bikram Baniya, General Secretary Badri Prasad Chaulagain, Chairman of Nepal Truck Container Transport Service Arjun Bahadur Sapkota and other officials met Minister Lamsal at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development on Monday. Former President of Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs Nepal Bishwanath Khanal, Senior Vice President and newly appointed member of Nepal Road Board Arun Shrestha were also present during the meeting.
The Federation has said that around 400 trucks and containers have gone missing in the Bhotekoshi flood at Timure of Rasuwa on August 26.
During the meeting, the federation drew the attention of the government to make arrangements for relief and compensation by making a realistic assessment of the human and physical losses suffered by the transport entrepreneurs and workers due to the floods. Discussions were also held on the search for the missing vehicles, collection of details of the damage and providing relief to the affected businessmen.
A committee has been formed under the coordination of Director General of the Department of Transport Management, Rajiv Pokhrel, to prepare a report with opinions on the assessment of the damage caused by the floods in the transport sector, the basis of compensation and other issues. The committee will submit its report within 15 days.
Similarly, another committee has been formed under the coordination of the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development to make necessary amendments in the policies, rules, acts and laws related to the transport sector. The committee will submit its report within 45 days.
During the meeting, the federation also informed that it will hand over Rs 10,11,111 collected from the federation and member organizations to the Prime Minister Natural Disaster Relief Fund for the Bhotekoshi flood victims. The federation has requested the minister to provide time for the transfer of the amount.
Federation President Baniya said the truck and container entrepreneurs have suffered a huge loss due to the floods and demanded the government to make public the details of the condition of the missing vehicles, drivers and workers and provide the required support from the state to the affected entrepreneurs.
Chaulagain, general secretary of the federation, said that the federation has been collecting details of the missing trucks, containers, drivers and workers in coordination with various bodies after the floods. He said that the government should take special initiatives for relief, compensation and rehabilitation by properly assessing the damage caused by the transport sector.
On the occasion, Sapkota, president of Nepal Truck Container Transport Service, apprised Minister Lamsal about the losses caused by the floods and urged him to take necessary initiatives to resolve the problems of the transport entrepreneurs affected by the floods.
Expressing gratitude to the Federation and its member organizations for their support to the flood victims, Minister Lamsal expressed his commitment to take necessary initiatives based on the accurate details of the damage caused by the transport sector.
