*Traffic Police never focused on interior areas of Reasi
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 21: The tragedy which struck Jyotipuram area of Reasi district last evening claiming 22 lives and rendering 48 others critically injured was the outcome of sheer non-seriousness of multiple agencies in general and Traffic Police in particular. However, the Government has shown only superficial mind by merely issuing official statements expressing grief over the accident instead of taking the erring officers of the concerned agencies to task for their failure to check the menace of overloading.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Transport Department, Traffic Police and Executive Police were equally responsible for the tragedy that has befallen on several families as none of these agencies of the Government bothered to check overloading of the ill-fated vehicle despite being aware of the fact that this is one of the major reasons behind tragedies on the roads in hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
They disclosed that Traffic Police personnel deployed in Reasi district have been concentrating only on National Highway 144 (Domail-Katra-Reasi) and checking violations of Traffic Rules and Motor Vehicle Act in interior areas of the district never became part of their duties.
“The Traffic Police personnel hiding their vehicles behind the trees along this National Highway only to appear suddenly on the road on witnessing inter-state vehicles and load carriers is a common scene”, sources said, adding “those passenger vehicles, which found mention in the lists prepared by the cops in blue, are rarely stopped even though they are openly flouting the Traffic Rules and Motor Vehicle Act”.
“Similarly, the Transport Department, which too has presence in all the districts of Jammu and Kashmir, is not paying any serious attention towards checking the violation of Motor Vehicle Act”, sources said while disclosing that Assistant Regional Transport Officers (ARTOs) are rarely seen carrying out checking of the vehicles for various offences in their respective areas and their main excuse is shortage of manpower.
Referring to the claims of the Reasi administration that the ill-fated vehicle was carrying passengers beyond its seating capacity mainly because this was last vehicle for Babbar area from Reasi following development of snag in the earlier one, sources said, “if the ARTO Reasi was aware of shortage of passenger vehicles on this particular route why the senior officers of the department were not asked for pressing State Road Transport Corporation buses to meet the public requirement”.
“The ARTOs are not only meant for issuance of driving licenses or checking fitness of the vehicles, they are also supposed to project the transport related difficulties of the people before the senior functionaries of the Transport Department or the Government”, sources said, adding “had there been sufficient number of passenger vehicles for this route the people would not have risked their lives for reaching their respective destinations”.
Sources further said, “not only Traffic Police and Transport Department even the Reasi Police is also responsible for the tragic accident at Jyotipuram as police personnel deployed at Police Stations and Police Posts are also supposed to check violations of rules”, adding “the Police Stations and Police Posts have been given sufficient powers to impound the vehicles flouting the rules but this was not done in respect of vehicle which was carrying passengers beyond its seating capacity yesterday”.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Ravinder Kumar confirmed that Traffic Police personnel deployed in Reasi district were primarily focusing on National Highway 144 (Domail-Katra-Reasi). “I have come to know that they (Traffic Police personnel) are rarely focusing on interior areas of the district which otherwise should receive equal attention”, he added.
He disclosed that a Magisterial enquiry has been ordered into yesterday’s incident to be conducted by Additional Deputy Commissioner within a period of 15 days. “He will look into all the aspects which have contributed to the tragedy near Jyotipuram”, the Deputy Commissioner added.
Responding to a question, he said, “no doubt it is primarily the job of Traffic Police to check violations by passenger vehicles but police personnel deployed at Police Stations and Police Posts cannot either refuse to check such violations or turn blind eye towards the same”.
However, sources has termed the Magisterial enquiry as just a formality and said, “the fate of such enquiries after similar tragic accidents in other areas of the State clearly establishes that Magisterial enquiry into accidents is only aimed at preventing public outcry over the loss of lives”, adding “nobody knows what action has been taken on the receipt of reports of such Magisterial enquiries”.
Despite repeated calls on his phone to ascertain what action has been taken to fix the responsibility for failure to check overloading of vehicle which met with accident at Jyotipuram, Inspector General of Traffic Police, Shafqat Ahmed Wattali didn’t respond. Similarly, there was no response from the ARTO Reasi, Diksha Bamba despite repeated calls on her phone.
Notwithstanding non-seriousness of all the concerned agencies in checking tragic road accident at Jyotipuram, the Government has acted in most casual manner by merely issuing official statements expressing grief and shock over the tragedy. Had there been any sort of seriousness on the part of Government, it should have ordered a high-level enquiry to fix the responsibility and take action against the erring officers of different agencies.
“Merely issuing statements is not going to bring an end to the tragic road accidents and as is being pointed out by the Governor N N Vohra repeatedly the Government is required to evolve a mechanism by involving all the concerned agencies so as to check loss of lives on the roads”, sources said.
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