Taking cognisance of the road accident, State Governor KK Paul has instructed Transport Secretary to conduct fitness test of all the vehicles whether they have permit or not. They should complete such test before the beginning of Char Dham Yatra and allow vehicle on Char Dham route only after passing fitness test.
People say that mishaps are common in the mountainous areas with the number of such cases increasing during yatra season because administration gives relaxation to avoid unnecessary traffic jam, which happens during enforcement of order with zero tolerance, on Char Dham Yatra route.
On Saturday a bus met with an accident and on Sunday a car met with an accident and four people lost their lives on the spot.
Now strict implementation of precautionary measures on way to Char Dham would be a major task for the yatra administration.
Paul instructed to secretary (transport) to launch a state-wide campaign for checking the fitness of public vehicles before the beginning of the Yatra season in the state.
The Governor has taken serious note of the accidents taking place in the State and has directed that all vehicles of the transport department should be checked on the basis of the rules strictly.
He said that vehicles that had fulfilled the formalities of tax etc should also be checked. Norms regarding drivers should be followed strictly in the case of long journeys. At least two drivers should be available.
Strict action should be taken against drunken driving. He gave strict directions that accountability of the transport department and officials concerned should be fixed from now on in the case of accidents.
Talking to The Pioneer, an official said that it is irony of hills and reason may be anything either negligence of driver or sudden landslide.
Administration has experience of more than 30 dead bodies, natives of Odisha, rituals were made by the administration during yatra season.
Although several precautionary measures were taken by the administration but sometimes officials’ personal interests facilitate because they don’t implement the precautionary measures in his jurisdiction.