Dear Editor,
The tragic road accient has happened on 11th May, in Udhampur District in which unfortunately 24 precious lives have been lost and about 54 people are reported to have been injured, many getting treatment at different hospitals. This news has come as a shock to all and saddened many hearts, plunging families into pall of gloom who have lost their near and dear ones in this tragic road accident. May Almighty provide them the strength to bear this irreparable and irretrievable loss.The road accidents are occurring in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir quite frequently which is very unfortunate and a matter of grave concern. We all know that life is a precious gift from Almighty and all attempts of mankind is to save life at all cost as we mostly see incase of natural calamities like earthquakes and flash floods etc striking in any part of the world and even in case of accidents.
The sad and untimely deaths of large number 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 cognisance of such incidents, deliberate on all aspects concerning 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 territory and geographyof Jammu and Kashmir State being hilly and mountainious, the roads are located just on the foots of hill and mountains and alongside are deep gorges, ravines and rivers flowing simultaneously which makes the travelling on such roads all the more vulnerable and prone to greater risk.
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 vehicle (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 en-route 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 indicate that all safety norms were given the go by. A bus with capacity of 42 passengers carrying 80 passengers on board speaks volumes as to how all the safety norms have been thrown away leading to tragic accident, involving precious humanlives. Safety of passengers is very crucial as every such tragic incident/accident takes toll of precious human life.
It is, therefore, urged upon the authorities concerned to initiate suitable remedial measures to preempt these road accidents so that no family could loose their near and dear ones any more owing to these tragic incidents. In fact, the urgent need is to formulate a comprehensive road safety policy by involving the experts in the fields.
Ravi Sharma,
Jammu
