Life in any form is valuable and human life is too precious to be lost in road accidents too frequently, but this is happening in our Jammu and Kashmir. It is true that there has been vast improvement in road connectivity across the UT and efforts are on to have motor able roads at remotest possible area but road making is a full scientific subject as such requires minutest of details to be taken into account, be it blind curves or culverts or potholes or narrowing of road at some stretch or maintainable maximum speed and so many other factors. It is not a few days simple sand, gravel and macadamisation job but months of surveys and planning are required to make a road and more so in hilly area. In Jammu and Kashmir so many agencies are involved in the process of road making- UT owned Roads and Buildings Department, Border Road Organisation, NHIDCL but unfortunately someway or other Batote-Doda-Kishtwar section of roads have in reality become death traps with almost daily tragic loss of lives. Year after year same story is getting repeated but till now nothing tangible has been done on ground to dissect the problem and resolve the issues. Same spot accidents are occurring and authorities know very well the root causes but no official road audit being done, no accountability being fixed and the result is dance of death goes on and on. It is not rocket science to understand the topography, bends and curves or for that matter condition of the roads, simple road audit of all the roads be it NH or state road is the need of the hour but it seems to be too herculean task for District Administration of the three districts of Ramban-Doda-Kishtwar, why nobody wants to address the issue? It is matter of serious introspection why even District Administrations have not been taken to task by higher authorities. National Highway on this track is being maintained by BRO or NHIDCL, have they been asked tough questions, why so many accidents? Are funds not available for road maintenance? If not what is point of Toll Plazas and petrol cess? All these things will come out if road audit is being done from time to time so that all shortcomings are taken into account and corrective measures taken. Non functional trauma centres are another serious lapse on the part of administration.
It is a continuous process with some strict measures to be put in place. Fitting of speed governors in all commercial vehicles, deployment of enough traffic police to check drug/drunken driving, cancellation of RCs/licenses of the offenders, frequent display of warning messages and public awareness are the need of the hour. Random cross checking of the licenses and if required, organise special additional training for commercial drivers, specifically on over speeding and rash driving as majority of these accidents are due to human error. Road worthiness of vehicles plying on these sections is another factor. BRO and NHIDCL should be immediately forced for road audit and do the course correction wherever required. Winters are fast approaching as such fog is going to be another additional factor with dire consequences, if neglected. State highways have their own problems which have to be taken seriously and be rectified on war footing. Gone is the time of passing on the buck, each and every stake holder must do its part including public to resolve these recurring human tragedies. Due to failure of administration to timely address the issue, High Court has rightly intervened and asked for ATR. Compensation and lip services are of no use, life is not a death race, every effort should be put to save it.
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