Road accidents
Sir,
A couple of days
ago a major road accident occurred in Kishtwar in
which thirty six lives were lost and many were
seriously injured. This year this is the major
accident in which such a large number of persons
were killed. The passengers of the hill roads are
at the mercy of the drivers and this point has
been proved beyond any doubt by the accident that
has taken place on 8th of May.
The people of this
region can only hope that this is the last
accident of the year. But if such accidents are
to be stopped and all concerned authorities are
in favour of putting a stop to these accidents
then something drastic is to be done.
Unfortunately nothing seems to influence the
Government even the heavy loss of lives seems to
have any marked influence on the Government to
galvanise them into action whereby such ghastly
and heart rending accidents are stopped. In such
accidents some points are very important and in
one way or the other contribute to the happenings
of such accidents. The overloading is one of the
main problem. On hill roads which are very narrow
and have steep bends it is important and crucial
that overloading is stopped. There is only one
agency that can do it or is entrusted with and
that is the traffic police. Quite evidently they
have failed to check the plying of overloaded
buses on this route. They may have some logistic
problem but by and large the authorities should
see to if that why traffic police is not made an
effective police arm which can check the
overloading and overspeeding of vehicles on these
trecherous hilly routes.
Secondly, the
buses which ply in these routes are old and have
little or no usual maintenance. There has to be
regular checks on the vehicles which ply between
Jammu- Doda, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah, Rajouri or
Poonch. The simple fact is that such routes have
claimed more lives than on the Jammu-Srinagar
route. Thirdly, the quality and training of
drivers has to be upgraded and honed so that we
get safer hands who drive the buses. It is only
in their hands that the lives of people who
travel lies.
Such accidents are
to be avoided at any cost. The Government should
seriously think about such accidents and come out
with a blue print that would effectively stop the
accidents of such nature. The people of this
state have a right to travel safely and it is the
onerous responsibility of the Government to
ensure it.
Yours etc...
P L Gupta
Nanak Nagar
Jammu
Central University status
Sir,
For the last 5-6
years, one can watch the meteoric rise of the JK
which has excelled in almost all the aspects of
befitting a good university. Notwithstanding the
ISO certification, it is presently the best among
the umpteen number of Universities based in the
J&K State.
The Jammu
University has lately exhibited lot of talent in
extracurricular activities including sports and
academic excellence through a committed and
talented faculty. There is a frequent interaction
between the teachers of JK and Universities of
UK, Cananda, Sweden, US, Pakistan, Singapore and
Maurituis. Lot many researchers from the JK have
presented their papers overseas over the years.
Cultural events, seminars-national and
international are the orders of the day. JK has
become avenue where politicians, strategists,
diplomats and even defence planners meet so often
to discuss vital national issues. This is not
done in most of the Indian Universities with a
fame. Moreover, the JU has 4 campuses now.
Going to the
administration and exam there is an effective
administration, a transparent exam system which
is not found in most of the leading universities
in India. But we can't help over own cynics for
whom ''Ghar-kee-murgi-daal-barabar'' is the
appropriate quote.The sooner the MHRD (Ministry
of Human Resource Development) concedes the
genuine demand of the JK, the better for the
region.
Yours etc...
Dr. T K Munshi
Channi Himmat,
Jammu
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