The tragic death of 24 pilgrims- belonging to Madhya Pradesh (MP) - returning from Gangotri near Dharasu in Uttarkashi district on Tuesday has raised a serious question mark on the efficacy of the system put in place to check fitness of vehicles before they embark on Char Dham Yatra.
Thousands of contract carriage, stage carriage and private vehicles take part in journey to Char Dhams of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri daily when the Yatra season is at its peak. For ensuring safe journey, the state transport department provides green cards to the commercial vehicles before they proceed on Char Dham Yatra. Technically this card is issued only after a thorough check up of the vehicle and driver however due to shortage of manpower and callous approach of the department officials; the necessary steps involved in issuing this card are overlooked very often. The task of checking the vehicle properly and issuing green card is entrusted on Regional Inspectors (RI). Incidentally there is only one RI in Dehradun district which practically makes impossible for him to personally check all the vehicles and in his absence the subordinate staff clears the vehicles.
Technically the RI should inspect overhand of the vehicle which should not be more than 60 percent of wheel base of the vehicle similarly the tie rod end of the vehicle which is connected with steering wheel is checked for any malfunction. The leave springs of the vehicle should be in good shape. Apart from them things like wiper, all lights, horn and mirrors should be in proper condition. All the tyres of the vehicle should not be old and should have grooves for proper road grip. The front two tyres should compulsorily be new.
The seating capacity mentioned in the registration certificate of the vehicle is checked and the officials should remove all extra seats to prevent overloading of the vehicle. After the check up of the vehicle the skills of the driver too is needed to be verified for hill driving and a short training is needed to be imparted to him if any lacunae is found.
As per the norms the green card is issued only after the above mentioned procedure is followed. The huge work load during peak of the Yatra season usually results in officials overlooking these important procedures thus putting the lives of passengers in danger. The data of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) of Dehradun reveals that it has issued a total of 8800 green cards this season till date to the vehicles before they start Yatra. The department has issued 6339 green cards to the vehicles registered in Uttarakhand while 2461 cards are issued to the vehicles of other States.
The RTO of Dehradun, Sudhansu Garg told The Pioneer that the department issues the green cards after a thorough check up and carefully following all procedures. He informed that the department has imparted training to 2478 drivers before they partake in Char Dham Yatra. The RTO attributed the accidents more on fault of the drivers than condition of vehicles.
like it happens in past after such accidents, the state government has declared that it will ensure all possible measures for safe journey in hills but the sad fact remains that accidents due to reasons like human error, condition of vehicle and road continue to take a toll of precious human lives in Uttarakhand.