Killer roads of Himachal claim 350 every year

SHIMLA, JAN 8: Topography, inhospitable terrain, unpredictable weather, and of course human error are the bane of this small hill state, w...

SHIMLA, JAN 8: Topography, inhospitable terrain, unpredictable weather, and of course human error are the bane of this small hill state, where on an average about 350 persons are killed in minor and major road accidents every year. Interestingly, in Himachal, accidents are less as compared to the plains but death rate is very high. The number of injured also touches several hundreds every year, resulting in a burden of lakhs of rupees on the state exchequer in terms of relief to the kin of the dead and injured.

In 1999 only, over 500 persons were killed in at least 90 major and minor accidents involving private vehicles, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation buses, private buses and of course, trucks. While during April and July, at least 110 persons were killed in over 70 accidents, in an accident on December 30, 18 persons were killed. In the Shillai accident alone, nearly two dozen persons were killed.

Keeping in view the small area and population of the state, the number of deaths in the roadaccidents is on the higher side, but the large number of accidents is not the cause of higher figure of casualties. On the contrary, while the number of accidents is far lower than the national average or that compared to other states, the number of deaths is very much on the higher side. Because of its difficult terrain, when a bus or any other vehicle meets with an accident, it skids off of the road in most of cases and rolls down hundreds of feet. According to Public Works Minister Mohinder Singh, in most cases the accidents are caused by mechanical failure and human error.

While, agreeing that the roads are not as good as in the plains, he says the main reason for this is that the maintenance of roads in hilly terrains is very difficult. quot;Besides, the hilly roads have to bear the brunt of the vagaries of nature, snow and torrential rain and have to be repaired every year,quot; he added.

He said his department is overworked because the fragile mountains are prone to frequent landslides which are aneveryday phenomenon with roads virtually sinking at various places, particularly in the rainy season.

However, he maintained that roads in Himachal are far better than those in other hilly states. quot;But we do not get enough time to satisfactorily repair the damaged roads as the working period is limited to a small part of the year. First, it rains, then snows, then one has to wait for the snow to be cleared before work could really start,quot; he added. During the apple season thousands of trucks loaded with apples, other fruits and vegetables ply to various parts of the country and these loaded trucks are also responsible for damaging the roads, he stated.

Transport Minister Kishan Kapoor stated that the government had taken various measures to decrease the number of accidents. Besides enforcing the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act effectively, the police and judicial officials also check the buses, and any HRTC driver found under the influence of liquor is given a show cause notice and suspended, heclaimed. To avoid overloading, which is also the cause of the accidents, the government is plying more buses on the routes where passengers are in excess, he said.

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A policeman said private buses did not care about overloading as they are only interested in making money.