The crash of a Rawalpindi-bound coaster in Sudhnoti district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 22 nd injured another eight when it plunged into a ravine on Tuesday, is not the first, and will definitely not be the last, as it points up a number of the problems that occur that lead to such terrible accidents. AJK has been experiencing a rash of such accidents. Four people each were killed in accidents in Poonch and Neelum Districts, while 10 were injured in a third in Muzaffarabad district.
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The basic problem remains one of a lack of inspection. Road travel is not supposed to be unsafe; getting from Point A to Point B is not supposed to be potentially fatal. The problem starts with the failure to license the drivers honestly, or for there to be any oversight of whether they are trained for the torturous mountain roads of the free state. Then there is the roadworthiness of the vehicles. It must also be examined whether the interval between inspections might be too long. Has it been taken into consideration that AJK’s roads are harder on vehicles than the plains? There also does not appear to be enough attention paid to roadworthiness. This is particularly crucial in the winter, when AJK will experience rain and snow, and which willmake the roads there even more treacherous.
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All of these inspections are the responsibility of provincial governments, and all four provinces are areas which have similar problems, while Gilgit-Baltistan is probably a more extreme case. Punjab and KP abut AJK, and those areas have the same terrain, and thus similar vehicular and road problems. AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, KP and Punjab must all work round-the-clock to make sure that drivers and their vehicles are ready for the coming winter, as well as check their roads. Lives are too precious to be3 thrown away because of mere laziness, or the cupidity of vehicle owners, who want to turn a quick buck by overworking their drivers and abusing their vehicles, paying off the officials supposed to inspect, so that they can get away with murder.
