The killing of three persons in a recent tragic road accident in Kandi area of Kishtwar district has once again brought into public focus the increasing vulnerability of hilly roads to accidents during winter when roads become too much slippery due to snowing or incessant rain. Now it is for the traffic police department to increase frequency of traffic regulation for purposes of controlling rash driving on hilly roads in forthcoming chilly months of winter. Absolutely worrying it is that while the frequency of road accidents unprecedentedly rises during chilly months of winter the people injured in the road accidents don’t get prompt medical facilities in the vicinity of the accident sites both in the Chinab valley and Pir Panchal areas of Jammu division. It is an irrefutable fact that neither hilly roads vulnerable to road accidents during chilly months of winter can be repaired and reconstructed in a short span of few weeks nor hospitals in the close vicinity of hilly roads can be upgraded for the purposes of prompt health facilities to the victims of road accidents in a short span of few weeks. A bigger focus on reducing the intensity of rash driving on the hilly roads is the only way to reduce the increasing intensity of road accidents in higher reaches like Chenab Valley and Pir Panchal areas of Jammu division. Undoubtedly making roads safer is the only way to make journey of people safer on hilly roads but clearing decks for repair and reconstruction of roads would take a long time as preparation of DPRs, allotment of works and their execution is a time consuming process the completion of which takes several months even in cases of highest priority.
“While strictly enforcing traffic rules on hilly areas the traffic awareness campaign demands and deserves an equal and immediate attention of the traffic police department as traffic awareness campaign won’t be a good success without active engagement involvement of civil society groups who exercise a greater influence on local populations”.
The key to reduce increasing frequency of road accidents in hilly areas apparently lies in the enforcement of traffic rules as strictly on the hilly road as strictly they are enforced in plain. Though strict enforcement of rules on the hilly roads necessitates increased deployment of traffic cops for the purposed of increased traffic regulation in hilly areas but matter of equal higher priority would probably be public awareness on enforcement of traffic rules in hilly areas. So while strictly enforcing traffic rules on hilly areas the traffic awareness campaign demands and deserves an equal and immediate attention of the traffic police department as traffic awareness campaign won’t be a good success without active engagement involvement of civil society groups who exercise a greater influence on local populations.
