The people of Uttarakhand especially those who frequently travel on mountain roads have expressed concern at the frequency of accidents taking place in the State. They state that though accidents are not a new issues, some factors appear to have increased the frequency of and exacerbated the damage caused in such accidents on mountain roads.
Tripti Negi from Srinagar says, “Deforestation and blasting done during construction to make the roads wider lead to landslide during rains. At times it blocks roads and causes severe accidents too.” Such factors increase the risk of accidents.
Drunk and sleepy drivers, narrow routes, malfunctioning vehicles and damaged roads are the most common and the common causes of accidents in mountainous regions, the people opine. “The buses are generally overloaded with passengers. Many times the drivers are drunk but they still drive. Some of them do not even have proper driving license. There is no traffic police or proper checking system for overcrowded buses, drunk drivers and the valid license of drivers,” said Prakash Bisht who often travels from Dehradun to Pauri.
Mohit Rawat from Dehradun alleged that some bus drivers get their driving license through someone else in an unauthorised way. Initially some of them are not even good at driving a bus properly, he opined.
In general, the public believe that the authorities concerned need to improvement enforcement of regulations on the roads. The issuance of driving licensces also needs to be made after stringent tests.