Everyday we open a newspaper we are greeted by a news that an accident has happened somewhere. The recent accident in Akhnoor in which many pilgrims died was a sad event. The Jammu region in particular has bore the brunt of some of the most fatal accidents on our roads. The hilly areas of Doda, Kishtawar and Rajauri have witnessed the highest number of accidents with maximum casualties.
These hilly districts are ridden with narrow roads where hairpin bends are found ubiquitously. Most of the accidents happening when the overcrowded buses full of blue-collared workers leave to and from from big cities for the weekend. Everyone is in hurry and wants to make maximum use of the holidays. It is this need that bus drivers exploit and fill the buses with maximum passengers.
Every accident we witness on these roads seems worse than the previous. The saga continues from last four decades. The population is ever-increasing in these hilly areas and employment opportunities are less. So everyone is heading towards Jammu city for small-time jobs. The roads have the same width as they had a few decades ago with the difference that a majority of them are now blacktopped. There are no arrested or fenders on the sides of roads to arrest the speed of a bus negotiating a sharp curve. Most of the drivers whose vehicles plunge in rivers do not have the license to drive a commercial vehicle. This is not only a serious lapse but a crime against humanity.
How many more lives have to be lost before the government wakes up? How many more accidents before the government considers the gravity of the situation? The government needs to take proactive steps to this end and ensure proper lighting of these roads, proper checks and balances to arrest any laxity in implementing the actual plan and constantly being on the watch. It is high time we ensure that no one dies unnecessarily on our roads.
