Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has issued a directive to the concerned authorities to make all the roads of Kathmandu pothole-free within 15 days.

PM Deuba on Sunday summoned ministers, secretaries and department heads of the ministries concerned with construction and repair of roads, water supply and electricity and instructed them to improve the sorry state of the Capital roads as well as fix the drainage system.

The instruction from the prime minister comes in the wake of the growing incidents of people falling into open drainage system and puddles.

On Friday, Binita Phuyal, a third grader, was swept away by flood waters that had covered the road at Nepaltar. She died in course of treatment. 

Another girl, Satya Sapkota, also fell into an open drainage system by the side of a flooded road in Samakhusi while returning home from school. She was washed away by the swift currents for several metres before she was rescued by locals.

Sapkota’s fall, which was recorded by an onlooker in her mobile phone, was shared in social media, which elicited widespread public criticism about the condition of the Capital’s road during monsoon.

Many blamed the ongoing pipeline installation works of Melamchi Water Supply Project and the road expansion works for the present condition of the road in Kathmandu, others called on the newly elected local representatives of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to first fix the roads and drainage system instead of peddling the smart city plan.

Prime Minister Deuba has pledged to provide the necessary budget and other resources to fill the potholes on the roads and fix the drainage system.

He also ordered the chief of concerned agencies to visit the sites personally to make sure the works are being carried out as planned