I
Sir,
Shocking news of untimely death of 24, and injuries to 52 passengers in Chenani on 11.05.2015, once again created a phenomenon of lamentation and bereavement (DE May 12th). No other than mismanagenent and inadequacy in public transport services, can be made attributable for such scenes. Over loading takes place, only when such services aren’t in proportion to the number of population in the area concerned. Until roads are properly maintained and traffic regulations are sternly implemented, curbing such tragedies is difficult. Subjecting every mishappening to the fury of nature can’t absolve the mankind of dereliction of their duties. Condolences at such junctures are indeed needed, but, what requires most, is a system, whereby such mishappening/ tragedies can be averted.
Yours etc..
Keshwa Nand Sharma
Salehri (S. Bani)
II
Sir,
The sad and untimely deaths of large numbers of people due to road accidents is certainly a matter of serious concern and this vital issue of public importance ought to be uppermost in the minds of the authorities concerned. Of course, from time to time, the authorities take serious cognizance of such incidents, deliberate on all aspects cocnerning safety and security of the passengers by chalking out safety plans for implementation. But it appears as if these accidents are not abating and the killer roads are playing havoc with the lives of people.
The topography of Jammu & Kashmir State being hilly and mountainous, the roads are located just on the foot of hills and mountains and alongside deep gorges, ravines makes the travelling on such roads risky.
It is often seen that though unworthiness of road at vulnerable points is one of the causes of these accidents but majority of accidents are happening either due to negligent driving, inebriated driving overloading or overspeeding etc. And in the instant case, as per reports appearing in print media, the over loading is seemingly the main cause due to which the driver of the bus seemed to have lost control, resulting into the ill-fated vehicles (bus) plunging deep into the gorge. One more factor, which could be inferred from this unfortunate happening is the lack of sufficient number of busses enroute especially plying in these far flung areas, forcing the villagers to board the already overloaded bus. The passengers are reported to have been sitting on rooftop and many just hanging on the doors in it indicate that all safety norms were given the go by. It is, therefore, urged upon the authorities concerned to kindly initiate suitable remedial measures to pre-empt these road acccidents so that no family could lose their near and dear ones any more owing to these tragic incidents.
Yours etc….
Ravi Sharma
Jammu
Follow our WhatsApp channel