Kishtwar road tragedy

Yesterday (May 24), seven persons (Project workers) died in a tragic accident and two other got seriously injured when a cruiser vehicle in which they were travelling skidded of the road and fell into a deep gorge near the dangduru Dam Project site in Kishtwar District. The pictures of the wreckage of the cruiser van and bodies of the passengers shocked people. Kishtwar accident has brought immense grief to the affected families in particular and to the people of this UT in general; although the statements will now randomly flow in all directions but the real concern is to fix the culpability. After all someone has to take the responsibility for such a horrible mishap. It is not the first time that an accident of this scale has occurred on this route. Earlier also we have seen catastrophes hitting the people of this region on these roads. What has government done to make these roads and the vehicles that carry passengers less prone to accidents? Cynicism and the outburst of anger apart, the likelihood of accidents can be reduced to a great extent on these roads if the concerned authorities apply themselves with more seriousness and professionalism. In all the earlier accidents, and this one also, there are some pointers that appear in bold as the contributing factors. The condition of roads is one of the prime factors that results in such mishaps. The callous attitude towards maintaining these roads has many a time resulted in such tragic incidents. Had government taken notice of the condition of the roads in the hilly regions many accidents could have been avoided. While government has supported different road safety drives, it has shown lesser concern on making roads safe by adopting latest scientific and engineering (improvised road building) approaches. That too when there is a whole department at its disposal. Sharp curves, speed limiters, road elevations, railings and even presence of officials on the ground escape the official notice until a disaster strikes. It is unrealistic to think of saving the crew after a vehicle goes down the gorges. Nevertheless, it is highly possible that road skids could be prevented particularly in areas that are accident prone. Therefore lamenting the loss, which is becoming quite frequent, will not bring any good. The government and different authorities should put up concerted efforts to prevent the road accidents and reduce the death rate due to accidents in the UT. Smooth roads are not enough, the people are entitled to safe roads so that their journeys do not end up in a disaster.