Four more lives were lost in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district on early Sunday morning as a speeding car crashed into a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims. Nikhil and Anu, newly married couple who wee returning home after a honeymoon trip to Malaysia and their fathers Mathai Eapen and Biju George respectively died on the spot. Nikhil and Anu who had got married on 30th November were returning after their Malaysian trip and their parents had picked them up from the international airport at Thiruvananthapuram.
The accident occurred hardly seven kilometers from their residence.
This is the latest of the series of mishaps which shocked the people in the State as it was on Thursday four girls were crushed to death in Palakkad by a speeding lorry.
Two days prior to the Palakkad accident, six students of Government Medical College, Alappuzha died while the car in which they were traveling lost control and had a head-on collision with a bus.
Over the years, Kerala roads have graduated into graveyards.
Travellers coming to Kerala from North India are advised to be doubly cautious while undertaking journeys in the roads.
The State administration blames the Centre for every accidents even of the roads belong to the State Express Highways, said officials of State transport department.
Just two days before the death of the medicos, five migrant workers from Tamil Nadu were ran over by a speeding truck in Thrissur. "All these deaths were gruesome and there were many factors that contributed to these accidents," said Upendra Narayanan, advisor to the Road Safety Committee of Kerala Government.
He told The Pioneer that enforcement system of road safety rules were weak in the State which is facing shortage of cops to monitor movement of vehicles.
More than 4,000 persons get killedin Kerala roads every year, according to the State Crime Records Bureau. "There are drivers related issues, and lack of road safety and etiquettes," said Narayanan.
Only accidents in which four or more persons get killed are reported by the media in the State while fatal accidents are the order of the day.
Speeding tipper trucks engaged in construction works are playing havoc in Kerala roads, according to P Venu Gopal, a former Group Captain in IAF.
"The boulders for construction works are brought to the State from neighboring Tamil Nadu. The owners of the tipper trucks make the drivers go for as many trips as possible to make fast bucks even at the cost of other people's lives," said Narayanan, who was a race driver for an international brand SUV. Most of the accidents occur in the wee hours of the day underscoring the fact that drivers of the ill fated vehicles were not trained to drive during the odd hours. "Liquor too plays a major role in these mishaps.
Above all, the Kerala Government should give extra care in the construction of roads, especially those with curves and bends," said Narayanan. The chief minister and highways minister have expressed shock and sorrow over the accidents which mark the closure of the topic till the next accident happens.
