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| Bloodshed on roads unabated! | | As families lose their bread winners, Govt stays inert | | Abodh Sharma
Jammu, Nov 26: Tragic death of 19 people in a bus mishap at Dudu in Udhampur the previous day has failed to jolt the government inebriated by power. Three days after tens of families lost their bread winners, indifferent Government is yet to fix responsibility of the incident on authorities of transport, Police or civil administration- it has infact done little beyond offering lip service to the injured in the hospital and shamelessly extending meagre Rs. 5000/- to the next of kin of the deceased.
Repeated road accidents and rising death toll in them has reportedly emptied the coffers of the Transport department. Little over 90 lakhs that it had in the passenger welfare fund have been exhausted in paying compensations to the next of kins of the deceased in these accidents. While government records show 3705 deaths in road accidents across the state during the current year till date, sources in the department divulge that the figures include only those killed in major accidents. "Ones and twos who get killed in accidents almost everyday find no mention in government record", said an officer of the Transport department pleading anonymity. "Even those who succumb to injuries after the accident remain out of the government figures", he added. "By a fair estimate this figure should be more than the double", he added further.
Records show that Government has failed to fix any accountability in such mishaps which leave many a families devastated for ever. "Way back in 1971, one man Fotedar Commission was set up following a road mishap at Chenani. On the recommendations of the Commission which held the Traffic police accountable and guilty of dereliction in duty, entire team of traffic police officers and men was suspended", informed an authoritative source in the Transport department. "41 years since then, government makes scapegoats and would suspend a lowly placed official to escape public ire, that too when Assembly is in session", he added.
Fact that the road on which the mishap took place on Saturday was under construction and unworthy of plying vehicular traffic; and also that the 42 seater bus had close to 80 passengers on board, is enough to hold the Traffic police accountable and take action against the concerned.
The condition of the bus which was close to 15 years old has raised serious question on the government's stand on plying such old vehicles on difficult peripheral roads. It is pertinent to mention here that against the direction of the State High Court not to allow passenger vehicles more than 15 years old to ply on roads, the government had appealed to raise the limit to 25 years.
Serious aspersions have been cast on the modus operandi adopted by transport authorities in certifying the road worthiness of the vehicles "They just see the vehicle from outside and never check them according to the laid procedure" said an office bearer of a transport union. "In Udhampur, there is no ramp in the passing ground and the officials would pass anything in exchange for money without caring for the consequences", he added.
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