by: Mohammad Imran Reshi
As we are fully acquainted with the news of accidents coming from every nook and corner of the valley, every now and then. There is not a single day passing without such news becoming the headlines of the newspapers and the resounding words and heartbreaking visuals circulating via social media, radios, televisions, and the like. There is hardly any accident devoid of loss of life otherwise in most of the cases, the loss of life and property is confirmed.
There may be numerous reasons which give birth to such devastating incidents throughout the valley. There may be some mistakes on the part of the drivers, sometimes of commuters, sometimes the reason may be the inadequate and damaged infrastructure as well. Irrespective of the fact who can be held responsible for such menaces, one thing is crystal clear we are losing our loved ones day by day and the loss is undoubtedly irreparable and irrecoverable.
So far as my knowledge and observation is concerned, I have listed down few reasons which lead to such devastating accidents in our valley. Actually I have classified them in three categories of mistakes committed by three different groups of people. Let’s have a look over them:
ü Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of Driver/s.
ü Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of General Public.
ü Mistakes/Ignorance on the part of the Administration.
Let’s discuss the first and foremost part i.e. mistakes on the part of Driver/s. This is one of the major cause which leads to incessant and life-taking accidents in every part of the world let alone the valley of Kashmir. Following is the list of mistakes or we can say blunders on the part of the driver/s.
a. Rash driving of driver/s on roads and highways: The driver community drives the vehicle in such a lightening pace without looking to and fro. Sometimes just to impress others or compete with other drivers they go on driving at an enormous speed and when any other vehicle or any commuter encounters them, they cannot manage to control the vehicle and such incidents take place.
b. Carelessness in using accident preventive measures and tools : This is also the significant cause of such incidents taking place every now and then. The important tools of the vehicle to avoid accidents such as side mirrors, horns, and dipper and so on, which are installed in the vehicle with the objective of preventing such accidents, are not properly and timely leveraged. This becomes one of the significant reasons of road accidents in our valley.
c. Overtaking with other vehicles : in many of the cases we have found that drivers use to overtake and compete with other drivers to attain some minimal benefits of bus fare and even just to satisfy their ego this also becomes one of the main causes of accidents in Kashmir, leading to loss of life and property or both in some cases.
d. Substance abuse : There are also a number of cases where after probing the case, it came out, that the driver was addicted to some narcotics or alcoholic drinks. Even the driver in many cases was found taking liquor while driving, and the hangover caused by such drinks tends to lose the mental stability of the driver which in turn results in the accident.
Now the second one, i.e mistakes on the part of the General Public. This is the most important reason of the accidents in valley which is always overlooked and goes unnoticed all the time. Here are some points of how general public is responsible for accidents in the valley? :
a. Encroachment of Roads: As we are well aware of the public encroachment of roads which is going on at large scale in Kashmir. The public living in and around the roads use it as their own property without paying any attention or concern towards the movement of the vehicles and commuters. We see roads dug by the public for their own advantages. It tends to then bottlenecks and narrowing of the road which disrupts of vehicular movement and resulting to such incidents.
b. Throwing Garbage on Roads: One of the careless things on the part of the general public especially the shop keepers on the roadsides is that they are throwing the wrappers of products, or the remains of any use and throw article especially the empty containers(Plastic Bottles and tins) of cold drinks or any edible oil or lubricants on the roads, which poses a greater risk for the vehicles and thereby to the commuters as well. Sometimes motorcycles or scooties skit on them, though the driver is injured badly the commuters also fell prey to such accident.
c. Window-Dressing by Shopkeepers: The shopkeepers with the intention of attracting customers and quickly catching of eyes of customers, stack their commercial products outside their shops and that too beyond their premises. This not only obstructs the pedestrian walking but also narrows the road and hinders the movement of vehicles. These elements also create a risk of accidents and in return the loss of life and property or both.
d. Amateur or Child Drivers: One of the main problems that lead to the increasing accident rate in valley is the permission given to young and inexperienced adolescents to drive vehicles. Parents give their wards who are not fully aware of the rules of the road and even do not know how to drive very well. This also leads to a compounding rate in the degree of accidents in our valley.
The 3rd, one is responsible for accidents in our valley is mistakes on the part of the administration. Somehow, there is a lack from the administration side as well which becomes a significant reason the accidents in Kashmir valley. Few of them are as follows :
a. Irregular execution of construction works: if we observe with a keen eyes on the reasons of accidents increasing in an accelerating pace in valley , we find that irregular working schedules of administration also becomes the main cause of accidents in the valley. There are works of construction going on in some road and the scene is one side traffic is running at pace and the other side men at work. This poses risk of accident for both the vehicles as well as the personnel engaged in construction works. While having such construction works the road must be blocked totally so that construction goes on smoothly and will be completed in time and in optimum way. There must be proper traffic advisory regarding the diversion of the traffic from some alternative route and the public should be given adequate awareness of the same.
b. Leaving construction works Halfway : Sometimes what happens in the infrastructure works, the work is left halfway owing to the insufficient supply of resources be it raw materials, labor or the funds. We have seen many times the open pits for poles neither the pole is installed nor the pit is filled, it remains wide open for a quite long time.
c. Improper Disposal of Construction Debris : Sometimes during the construction a bridge or sanitary drains, the debris which comes out from such construction is not disposed properly. And the concrete block pieces or the sticky or slippery material from the debris of sanitary construction sites tends to create the risk of hazardous accidents for vehicles and the commuters as well.
d. Lack of Retaining wall on dumpy roads : There are some roads which are not properly reinforced using the hard soil or pebbles. Those roads are usually a little bit dumpy and watery. This road being weak could not bear the weight of huge and heavy vehicles. Especially, when the one vehicle is giving side to the opposite side coming vehicle, the extreme edge of the road could not bear the weight of the vehicle and slips down including the vehicle which sometimes leads to the loss of the life of the driver and the damage of the vehicle is already confirmed.
e. Improper Drainage System : In addition to the above mentioned reasons, the improper drainage system is also the important reasons which sometimes leads to the accidents in the valley. Even a little amount of drizzle leads to the blockage of the drains, and the road are flooded with that dirty and filthy stuff. Sometimes while crossing such road which is filled with such material, the driver steps down into some pit or porthole invisible to the driver, and is badly injured including the damage to the vehicle.
There may also be many reasons for such accidents in addition to the abovementioned reasons. It was just a my observations and experiences were concerned, I inwardly felt it obligatory to aware to general masses of such things so that the degree and intensity of accidents can be curbed and curtailed to a substantial degree.
At last my prayers are with the families of the bereaved of such accidents till date. Wishing safety and prosperity for the people of the valley irrespective of any discrimination. Ameen
Mohammad Imran Reshi, Servant of Society
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