2 weeks on, probe report on Doda mishap not made public

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, November 28

Even 13 days after an inquiry committee was constituted to look into the reasons behind the bus accident in Doda district in which 39 people were killed on November 15, the findings of the report have not been made public, much to the chagrin of local residents. The three-member committee was led by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Ravi Kumar Bharti and had two other members — Doda’s ARTO and Superintending Engineer (PWD).

Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar had constituted the committee on the day of the accident and ordered that the findings be submitted to his office.

Asif Iqbal Butt, a local activist who has raised concerns about the road accidents in the region in the past, said the findings of the report must be shared with the people. “Every person has the right to know what led to the disaster that killed 39 people. Even the Deputy Commissioner had stated that there was some technical issue with the crash barriers but no action has been taken against anyone and no responsibility fixed,” he said.

When contacted, ADM Ravi Kumar Bharti said he was in a meeting and would talk later. Later, he couldn’t be contacted. In the aftermath when the Prime Minister’s Office and Union Ministry of Home Affairs had taken note of the incident, the administration of J&K started a drive in Doda and Kishtwar districts to issue challans to traffic violators. The police and the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) imposed a hefty penalty on buses and other commercial vehicles flouting traffic norms.

A senior official of Doda administration, who did not want to be identified, said despite all efforts, it would become difficult to maintain the vigil on overspeeding and overloading in coming days due to shortage of staff in the traffic police and the MVD.

The J&K administration has in the past not made public inquiry reports into major mishaps. As many as 12 Vaishno Devi pilgrims were killed in a stampede on the night of December 31, 2021. Division Commissioner Ramesh Kumar was the CEO of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) at that time. An inquiry was ordered, but the report hasn’t been made public till date.

Another inquiry was marked into the death of four patients at a private hospital in Jammu in May 2021 allegedly due to oxygen shortage. They were suffering from Covid. The inquiry report was never made public.

Three JKSRTC buses taken off road

• Three buses of the J&K State Road Transport Corporation, introduced by the Doda administration to ease overcrowding in private buses, have been taken off road due to technical issues.
• An official said the buses had been challaned in the past and had some other issues due to which they had to be taken off road. The buses will resume services in the coming days.
• There are nearly 250 mini-buses in Doda and around 100 buses from Jammu move to and from Doda every day besides tempos and private cabs.