Overloading of trucks goes unchecked

Our Correspondent

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Palampur, August 19

The absence of checking overloading of trucks in Himachal Pradesh by the state government has become a matter of concern.

These trucks are not only flouting the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, but also resulting in fatal accidents daily. In the past few years, these trucks have damaged the state and national highways and government agencies like traffic police and the Transport Department have become a mute spectator.

Trucks carrying cement, clinker, tiles and steel are flouting the provisions of the Act in the state and carrying load more than the prescribed limit of nine tonnes.

The four cement plants set up in the state and construction of various hydel power projects have further aggravated the situation. There is no check on the over loading of trucks carrying cement and clinker from factories and equipments for power projects. These trucks have also damaged various internal link roads.

Official sources said: “Over 20,000 trucks and dumpers belonging to cement plants use national and state highways daily. Most of these trucks carry load between 15 and 20 tonnes, thus, violating the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.”

The Kalka-Shimla (Hindustan Tibet Road), Kiratpur-Manali, Shimla-Kangra and Pathankot–Mandi and Pathankot-Chamba national highways of the state are the worst affected.

According to the existing provisions of the law, no vehicle can carry more than nine tonnes of load. The weighing machines installed by the state government at different entry points of the state are either out of order or not put to use by the officials concerned owing to rampant corruption.