KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress Chief Whip Basana Thapa and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Parliamentary Party Leader Gyan Bahadur Shahi on Monday urged the government to explain the delayed rescue response following the recent vehicle accident on the Karnali Highway.

Speaking during the House of Representatives meeting, Thapa said timely rescue was not carried out after the bus traveling from Surkhet to Kalikot met with an accident. She also criticized the government for failing to disclose the full facts of the incident despite several days having passed and called for the upgrading of the Karnali Highway.

Shahi accused the government of neglecting the people of Karnali, saying ministers travel by helicopter while the state remains absent during disasters. He demanded that the government clarify the reasons behind the delayed search and rescue operation, make the findings public, and pay greater attention to the needs of citizens in remote areas.