The Punjab unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday called for immediate intervention by the judiciary to stop “avoidable killings” on State’s roads. Concerned over the “unending assault” on the road users by private bus operators, the party has demanded formulation and implementation of a “transparent” transport policy “under the directions of the High Court”.
“A transparent transport policy be made and implemented under the directions of the High Court because the ruling Badals will never frame such a policy as it is a conflict of interest issue,” said AAP’s State convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur.
He suggested that the policy should keep in view the road width, traffic density, peak hours congestion and cater for accident prone stretches. listing out several other measures, the party maintained that a minimum of Rs25 lakh compensation should be paid to the victim’s family.
He added, “The new speeds limits for different stretches be formulated and boards depicting these be erected by the state Public Works Department (PWD).”
“The divers, in their greed to pick up maximum passengers at all stops and be within laid out time schedule, over speeds which leads to these horrible avoidable accidents,” said Chhotepur.
He said that if we do a social analysis of these mishaps, “it emerges that persons belonging to lower strata of society who are drivers on these buses and are exploited on the promise of bonuses, sub-contracting on fixed daily amounts or continued employment by their rich transporters, are invariably killing people of middle and lower classes who are either pedestrians or are driving two-wheelers or cycles”.
AAP leader called for “immediate intervention by the judiciary to stop these avoidable killings as the present ruling dispensation is not interested as it will reduce their profits”.