Seven people reportedly died and over a dozen were injured when the jeep they were travelling in fell off the road into a gorge about 150 metres deep in the Pokhri area of Chamoli district on Tuesday morning. The jeep was carrying 21 people, including the driver, to the ongoing fair in Pokhri.
According to Chamoli district superintendent of police Sunil K Meena, a jeep with registration number UK-11TA0624, taxying 21 people from Hapla to Kalshira in the Pokhri area met with an accident at about 9 AM.
Seven persons were killed on the spot while the injured persons were taken to the primary health centre at Pokhri for first-aid after which they were referred to higher centre. Arrangements were being made to transport the injured by helicopter to Dehradun for treatment, said Meena.
The exact cause of the accident had not been ascertained till the time of this report being filed. Those who died in the accident have been identified as Nauli village residents Pavitra Singh aged 60 years, brothers Sajan Singh aged 16 and Rajan Singh aged 14, Sandeep Singh aged 19, Meera Singh aged 18, Guddi Singh aged 38 and Bharti Devi aged 31. Some of the injured have been identified as Vinita Singh, Chandra Singh, Anup, Shanti Singh, Surushi Singh, Sarita Singh, Krish Singh, Diya Singh, Priya Singh and Meera Singh.
The tragic accident has spread a pall of gloom in the area. Observers point out that though the exact cause of the accident on Tuesday might not be known yet, the frequency of overloaded taxis meeting with mishaps on mountain roads is assuming alarming proportions. Overloading may be a contributing factor in the mishap involving the jeep that killed seven people in Pokhri area. Sources state that according to the dimensions of the jeep that was involved in this mishap, such a taxi can carry a maximum of eight passengers apart from the driver. However, this jeep was reportedly ferrying about 21 people when it fell down a gorge about 150 metres deep.
Observers point out that while the State Government claims to have succeeded in rejuvenating the Char Dham Yatra after the 2013 disaster by assuring tourists of safe and convenient journey in Uttarakhand, the authorities have consistently failed to tackle the dangerous practice of overloading of taxis and buses especially on mountain roads. Overloading is a factor in many of the accidents in the mountainous regions. Though such mishaps are not uncommon, the authorities have so far failed to initiate effective action to address overloading.