VoV Web Desk

Road accidents

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The roads are becoming death traps for the common people in entire Jammu and Kashmir State especially in Chenab Valley region. The recent accident of high magnitude in which 17 civilians were killed brought focus back on the condition of the roads in Kishtiwar and Doda districts. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past few years in Jammu and Kashmir State only in road mishaps.

According to the official figures, around 6,000 road accidents have been reported annually for the last two years in the state. The actual number according to officials would be much higher as lots of such incidents go unreported. In 2015, 917 people lost their lives in 5,800 road accidents. In 2016, 910 lives were claimed and over 8,000 suffered injuries by road accidents. That means three people die on an average daily in the state. Between 2011 and 2014, 3960 people lost their lives by road accidents and more than 30,000 people were injured in over 20,000 road accidents.

Preliminary analysis suggested that the accidents were concentrated around highways which are far removed from many city areas. Experts suggest a host of reasons behind rising accidents. From corruption, to rash-driving to poor road planning and inadequate law enforcement, there are many factors responsible for the rise in accidents. A House Committee was constituted to study the kinds of accidents and give recommendations to control it. The panel had come up with a slew of recommendations to the Transport department, Traffic department, R&B department and other agencies concerned for curbing rising road accidents especially. Ironically, many years have passed but no recommendation has been implemented by the government to prevent traffic accidents.

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