Dharam Prakash Gupta
Though the Himachal Pradesh government has directed police to take strict action against private bus operators violating traffic norms in order to check accidents in the state in the wake of recent bus accidents, nothing much seems to change as successive state governments have failed to act.
The fresh directions have been issued after 14 people died and 56 passengers were injured on January 9 in Haripurdhar of Sirmaur district when an overloaded private bus carrying nearly 70 passengers fell in a gorge.
With many roads being hilly and narrow in the state, road accidents are quite common due to several reasons every year but bus accidents are more fatal and take a heavy death toll as hundreds of passengers lose their lives.
Road transport is the main mode of transportation in the state and there is a large fleet of private buses plying on local and long routes contributing to the public transport system in a big way.
The state government’s run HRTC buses also meet many accidents and lives lost.
But it is also a fact that the majority of the private bus staff are violating traffic norms and directions issued by the transport authorities despite the passenger’s complaints and government’s directions.
After every major accident in the state the government issues directions and guidelines to check bus accidents making the police and the transport authorities alert but things come to a naught after some time and the business runs as usual.
Even Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued the directions to the state government in this regard but even these are being blown away in the air with impunity by private bus operators.
Many inquiries after fatal bus accidents suggest the main reason in most accidents is human error, violation of traffic norms or bad road conditions and sometimes a mechanical fault too.
The tendency to overload the private buses to maximum, reckless driving to compete with each other in cut-throat competition, make these most vulnerable.
In Himachal many roads in interiors of the state have limited bus service and are overloaded.
One can imagine this situation as the bus which met with an accident near Haripurdhar with a sitting capacity of 39 was carrying nearly 70 passengers when it plunged into a gorge and many precious lives were lost.
Driving buses at high speed on many narrow roads with sharp curves turns fatal as many roads become slippery and dangerous.
It is not that the state government agencies like transport authorities and police department do not know about such traffic violations but understaffed departments find it difficult to act.
Moreover, private bus operators have connections in political parties ruling the state. Only public pressure and strict orders from courts can help in saving the situation.
There is definitely a strong need to develop a strong mechanism by the government in this regard.
