Hardly a week passes without tragic news of a road accident taking precious and innocent lives. Fatal accidents generally take place on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at some of its critical and accident prone points or turns. According to official sources, 443 persons have been killed and 2,140 injured in 1,360 road accidents that have occurred on roads in mountainous three districts of the Chenab region since 2012. These are almost incredible figures ringing alarm bells that all is not right with the Road Transport Department. The Department has completely failed to control the situation by strictly enforcing the guidelines for traffic over the mountainous Highway. The Government has admitted that there is lack of proper safety measure on roads and the drivers drive under the influence of liquor. We are surprised that the Government is fully aware of the main reasons of these fatal accidents like negligent rash driving, driving under the influence of drugs and liquor besides fatigue. The matrix of the road is also to be blamed for the tragic road accidents. Road matrix like sharp curves, lack of parapet walls and crash barriers, pot holes, absence of reflectors on blind curves, absence of speed limit guide stones/ demarcation of speed limit zones are among the unpardonable shortcomings with the Road Transport Department. But still nothing is done to meet these requirements.
The subject of recurrent road accidents, especially in more dangerous zones of the National Highway from Jammu to Srinagar has been widely talked about subject in the print and electronic media. We at the Daily Excelsior have highlighted this subject very often and have also made some useful suggestions for controlling violation of traffic rules. The Governor has been greatly grieved at innocent deaths happening on the National Highway and had desired the Chief Minister to take some concrete measure to reduce the number of road accidents along the National Highway.
The administration needs to strictly enforce the standing rules for plying on the dangerous segments of the National Highway. Just giving relief money is not the solution of the problem. We can say that the Road Transport Department has not been taking its responsibilities seriously. It has been a victim of dereliction of duty. How come the Sumo that recently fell into the gorge killing five female passengers was driven by a person who did not have the proper driving license? Why was he not checked by the Traffic Police along the path he was driving? If the passengers had known that their vehicle was driven by a person who did not have the proper driving license, may be they would not have boarded the bus at all and would have been saved of fatal accident.
If the State Government did not move in the matter even when the Governor had invited their attention to the serious matter, what can one say about the good governance? It remains elusive. The first and foremost remedy of this malaise is that the traffic personnel responsible for the occurrence of the tragedy should be charged with criminal neglect of duty and prosecuted and punished according to the law of the land. Without punitive punishment this sickening disease of negligence of duty cannot be cured.
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