11 deaths in road accidents in past week fail to move government

Gurdeep Singh Mann

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 20

Deaths of 11 persons in the past one week have failed to wake the state government from its deep slumber in the city.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too appeared unmoved when the issue of rise in deaths on city roads are raised during his visit to the ‘bhoomi poojan’ ceremony of the new campus of the Central University of Punjab in Ghudda recently.

When the CM was apprised of the eleven deaths in one week, he said: “The government has constructed wide roads. We wish children, youngsters to grow and be raised by their family members and never expect them to meet with road accidents.”

Instead of directing senior police functionaries, who too were present during the ceremony, the Chief Minister visibly evaded the queries related with the rising mishaps.

Five of a family from Haryana were killed near Maur Mandi. An arhtiya was crushed to death in the Grain Market of Bathinda and two residents of Malout died on Sunday evening near Karamgarh Satran village. A student was crushed by a speeding school bus in Lal Singh Basti and two others are killed in two separate accidents in Bhucho Mandi and Talwandi Sabo. All these road accidents, wherein 11 people lost their lives, are reported in a week.

City residents said the unchecked plying of illegal vehicles, especially overloaded trucks, tractors and rashly driven buses, have become the major cause of road accidents.

“Besides these vehicles, there is also a rise in the number of banned vehicles which are called ‘Maruta’ or ‘Gharukka’. There is no check on the plying of such illegal vehicles”, said Sarwan Singh, a resident of the Power House Road area.

He said the traffic police would issue challans to only those vehicles, the drivers of which fail to produce some documents of vehicles.

“Challan is issued only to two-wheeler riders and car owners. But trucks, buses, autos, tractors, which hardly possess even a single document is let off by traffic police personnel”, alleged another Ravish Kumar, whose car was recently issued challan for not having a pollution check certificate. He said the traffic police even fail to keep a check on those illegal vehicles which were plied in wrong lanes.

‘plying of illegal vehicles cause of accidents’ 

City residents said the unchecked plying of illegal vehicles, especially overloaded trucks, tractors and rashly driven buses, have become a major cause of road accidents.