Though not totally unexpected yet happily the Apex Court has taken cognizance of very large number of deaths occurring owing to road accidents in the country. The figures of casualties are shocking. Road traffic accidents in 2010 numbered 4, 30,654 resulting in 1, 26,896 deaths and 4, 66,600 serious injuries that includes amputation of limbs. One serious road accident in the country occurs every minute; and one person dies in a road traffic accident every 4 minutes. The figures are furnished officially by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in the volume “Road Accidents in India 2010” highlighting the extent of increase of road accidents and fatal cases between 1970-2010.
We are not sure whether any other country surpasses us in road accident fatalities but that notwithstanding, the numbers quoted are extremely shocking. The Supreme Court Bench has taken due notice of a PIL filed by a famous orthopaedic surgeon in the country. The Bench has come to the conclusion that, among other reasons, the more important one is poor and unsafe condition of the roads in the country. It is a generalisation for the entire country including the States. Therefore, the Bench has taken a remedial measure of ordering constitution of a three-member committee with the agenda of suggesting measures to prevent road accidents and to ensure accountability. At least an exercise has to begin somewhere and Government have to be involved in the big exercise of addressing the condition of roads in the country.
Our State, mostly hilly state, has special interest in the matter taken up by the Supreme Court. We are among the worst affected people in the country in terms of road accident fatalities. In these columns we have been frequently reflecting on the serious problem of road accidents bringing onus on one and all. But in particular we have been accusing the Traffic Police and Transport department for dereliction of duty in preventing road accidents resulting in fatalities. These accidents mostly take place on the National Highway -NH1 Jammu to Srinagar, and on the Highway between Batote and Kishtwar. These two highways are running through very dangerous mountainous region where the mountains are mostly of sand and stone and prone to landslides or mudslides when there is heavy rain or snowfall. Of course the Traffic Department orders closure of traffic on any road if there is danger of landslides blocking the road or other obstructions. But it does not mean that accidents happen only when there is rain and snow and landslides. Road accidents do happen in dry weather as well. Therefore we have to understand that bad roads are one of the reasons of road accident fatalities. Negligence of drivers, overloading of passengers, rash driving, old and worn out engines and vehicles with damaged beaks and other parts and inability of the Traffic Department to implement traffic control rules, all combine to increase recurrence of road accidents on the roads in our State. Therefore, the traffic police should not take the cue from the order and observation of the Supreme Court that only bad roads are massive killers and that they are not in the picture.
As far as the condition of roads is concerned, our State has not an encouraging record. Leave alone the roads in towns and rural areas, even in the capital city of Jammu and major towns like Udhampur and Poonch, the condition of roads is far from being satisfactory. This falls within the jurisdiction of Public Works Department. Why does the black topping of roads in our State get washed away within one rainy season? Obviously substandard material and workmanship goes into their making. Why is maintenance almost next to nothing? Most of main roads in the city become unusable within short period of their construction and pot holes are to be found within days after the construction has been done and bills drawn. Two years ago the road Traffic Department announced with much fanfare in Jammu that red lights had been fixed at crossings and this would be a big sep in controlling the traffic and resolving traffic jams. How many of these electronic signals are functional today? Not more than a couple of them. Why there is no inquiry in the case in which lakhs of rupees have been spent from public exchequer with no results? The Government cannot take credit for something which it initiated but could not make functional.
We hope that the Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to report on the measures how road accidents can be minimized and road conditions improved will take special care to study the subject in the context of J&K State which is mostly having hilly roads and prone to frequent road accidents. This should help the government and the Traffic Police Department in tackling the issue in an effective manner.
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