Violation of Traffic, MV Rules unabated
Ajay Raina
RAMBAN, Mar 16: In a tragic accident, 11 people including five children were killed while four others were injured when the overloaded Tata Sumo they were traveling in skidded off the road and plunged into deep gorge near Baglihar Power House on Chanderkote-Rajgarh road this morning.
The ill-fated vehicle bearing registration number JK14B-0369 was on its way to Rajgarh from Ramban, when the driver lost control over the vehicle while reversing it, a result of which the vehicle plunged into Kunda Nallah, causing on the spot death of five persons and injuries to 11 others.
On getting information, ACR Harbans Lal Sharma along with police team led by Additional SP Ramban Sanjay Parihar rushed to the spot and started rescue operation with the help of local volunteers and locals.
All the 11 injured persons were retrieved from the gorge and shifted to District Hospital Ramban in police and other vehicles, where doctors declared five injured persons as brought death, thereby taking the toll to 10.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramban Showkat Aijaz Bhat and SSP Ramban Anita Sharma also rushed to the District Hospital Ramban and enquired about condition of the injured persons.
As accident report reached to MoS PMO and Member Parliament (MP) from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda constituency Dr Jitendra Singh, he talked to DC Ramban Showkat Aijaz Bhat and directed him to airlift the injured persons to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Jammu for specialized medicare.
After first aid at District Hospital Ramban, four injured persons were shifted to Chanderkote Helipad for airlifting to GMCH Jammu, but one of the injured child, who was also being airlifted succumbed to his injuries at the helipad, thereby raising the death toll to 11.
On the directions of Dr Jitendra Singh, a private helicopter was arranged by the District Administration Ramban and three injured persons were airlifted to GMCH Jammu for advanced treatment.
One injured person admitted in District Hospital Ramban was responding to the treatment, when last reports came in.
The deceased have been identified as Karun (10), son of Jasveer Singh of Kumate Rajgarh, Urmila Devi (32), wife of Manjeet Singh of Daswal Rajgarh, Pari (2), daughter of Manjeet Singh of Daswal Rajgarh, Romal Din (61), son of Abdullah of Mildan Rajgarh, Immana Bano (13), daughter of Zakir Hussain of Mildan Rajgarh, Baby (3), daughter of Zakir Hussain of Mildan Rajgarh, Arjun Singh (9), son of Jasveer Singh of Kumate Rajgarh, Babli Devi (37), wife of Jasveer Singh of Kumate Rajgarh, Rubeena Begum (30), wide of Mohammad Akram of Tatarsoo Ramban, Mohammad Mubeen (23), son of Saidullaha of Satra Bhartund and Hassan Bibi (40), wife of Gulian Gujjar.
The injured persons have been identified as Kishor Kumar (22), son of Lakshman of Gothgali, Mohammad Akram (30), son of Fakhir Sain of Tatarso Mathria, Sanjay Kumar (driver), son of Mohan Lal of Bibrota Rajgarh and Misra Begum (36), wife of Zakir Hussain of Mildan Rajgarh.
A case under relevant Sections has been registered at Ramban Police Station and investigation started to ascertain the cause of the accident.
The vehicle was carrying several passengers beyond its seating capacity, which clearly established that there is no let up in overloading of passenger vehicles.
The example of this is today’s accident, in which 11 precious lives were lost and four people received injuries.
The violation of Traffic and Motor Vehicle Rules is going on unabated on mountainous roads despite repeated instructions from top level in the administration about devising mechanism to check the menace.
However, DC Ramban Showkat Aijaz Bhat has directed the Police Department to conduct the inquiry into the incident and submit the investigation report to him.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rajgarh is a far flung tehsil in Ramban district and is connected with the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway through a link road, on which today’s tragic accident took place.
This Chanderkote-Rajgarh link road is in deplorable condition due to recent rains and snowfall, people living near the accident site said and demanded immediate repair of this road to avoid loss of precious lives in future.