Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 13: The Doda road mishap that claimed the lives of 16 persons including three kids has exposed the government's slackness in implementing guidelines of its much-touted road safety policy, which was formulated on 2016.
Even after passing of three-year nothing has been done to protect lives on the road because murders on the roads, especially in the Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar districts, are going unabated but those at the helm of the affairs are shamelessly watching such gruesome incidents on the roads.
Amid an unprecedented rise in the road accidents in Jammu hilly areas of province, the government is sitting over a report of the house committee of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly which had recommended several measures for checking the road accidents in the hilly area during the reign of Omar Abdullah led NC-Congress coalition government. The action taken report was tabled in the J&K assembly three years back but nothing has been done because higher-ups appeared to be unconcered about killing of poor people on the roads.
The successive governments had showed least concern towards the implementation of policy guidelines as it has fixed no deadline for the purpose. The construction of safe roads, introduction of smart buses, smart transport system and strict enforcement of rules were some of the measures which remain on paper.
Apart from this, the government's plan to study the requirement of drivers, prepare refresher courses for them and upgrade their competence to drive turned out to be cosmetic as the panel formed for the purpose is yet to deliver.
The committee headed by former MLA Kulgam M Y Tarigami was among other represented by former legislators Sajjad Kichloo, Shareef Niaz, Abdul Majid Wani, G M Saroori, Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Vikar Rasool. All these former legislators belong to hilly areas where road accidents are a routine affair.
The panel had mentioned that drivers plying private vehicles are not fully trained and un-trained. Plying vehicles by untrained drivers is a big reason for unprecedented rise in road accidents.
As many as 7,527 persons have been killed and over 63,547 injured in about 39,500 road accidents across the state since 2010. Till October this year, a total of 350 persons died and 2700 were injured in different road accidents. |
