State Government may be sincere in providing better road connectivity to the people of the remotest village but to make commuting safe on these proposed roads what steps the authorities initiate is the question always raised after any accident. The three accidents in Udhampur District on Monday once again raise the same questions. The accidents involved a bus, a car and a truck and a tempo traveller leaving five killed and 42 others injured. Among the three accidents was one of the freakiest one when a truck over turned on a parked car carrying some passengers a woman died in that accident. The reason in this case was clear highway at Nashri in Ramban area is very tricky one with uneven surface. This stretch was damaged during the last year’s floods and has not been repaired till date and on Monday claimed one life. Who is to be accounted for such a tragedy? The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has such tricky patches which are waiting for some accidents to take place. The repair and maintenance of highway may be with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) but roads in the interior areas speak volumes of Govt neglect. It looks no repair has been undertaken in some of the areas for years. It was on 11th May when 24 lives were lost in a bus accident in Udhampur all including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and the ministers extended condolences. If these ministers can join in issuing condolences can’t they work for betterment of peoples’ life and safety of them by jointly calling for strict laws? The passenger segment of transport which is largely operated by private players is the worst violator of all rules and regulations here. There is no regard to carrying passengers and as a resultant effect rash, drunken driving have become the major killers on the road. The official and unofficial data shows that more lives are lost on roads than militancy or any other natural calamity anywhere in India. Even the Supreme Court had also expressed concern over the lenient laws against violators. The Apex Court even asked the Parliament to enhance punishment for drunken driving by amending the present laws to safeguard valuable human life.
