No limit on speed, no check on booze, Malwa roads turn into killer stretches
Notwithstanding Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s dictates to check over-speeding and drunken driving to minimise road accidents across the state, the traffic police in the state's Malwa region have been remaining clueless on using the doppler radars (speedometers) and alcometers to check the menace on state and national highways.
Notwithstanding Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s dictates to check over-speeding and drunken driving to minimise road accidents across the state, the traffic police in the state's Malwa region have been remaining clueless on using the doppler radars (speedometers) and alcometers to check the menace on state and national highways.
As the HT cross-checked the reasons for the rising accidents in the region, there was no district where the traffic police could explain the number of drunken driving challans with the use of alcometers, while the cops concerned had also no clue about the speed limits on various vulnerable state highways connecting Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa and Barnala.
On Sunday, an over speeding canter's collision with a jeep on the Bathinda-Talwandi Sabo state highway led to the death of 4 persons injries to 5 others.
With three road accident deaths every day in the Bathinda zone, the region had witnessed two shocking incidents in December last -- 12 deaths of young teachers on the Abohar-Fazilka road and three New Year revellers in their 20s dying when their car was speeding at 120km per hour and they were drunk on December 31 last.
"There is no mention of speed limit on any road in our district, so the speedometers lying with us go useless," said inspector Pardeep Singh, who holds the charge of traffic police in Mansa district. He also acknowledged non-use of alcometers, adding that there was no record of challans conducted from drunken driving with the use of alcometers.
Ferozepur, Fazilka the worst
An average 1,000 deaths in a year occur in Fazilka and Ferozepur districts where the authorities were still clueless on how to check over speeding. They had the gadgets, but never used them at 'nakas'.
"All efforts are being made to stop road accidents while special police check points are also made at vulnerable points to check rash driving,” said Fazilka senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ketan Baliram Patil.
Bathinda no good
The Bathinda district traffic police have seven doplar radars and 40 alcometers, all lying waste at different police stations.
The checking of overspeeding remained a problem, acknowledged Bathinda SSP Swapan Sharma. Though he claimed that alcometers are in use. Another official failed to provide any figure in support of drunken driving challans. Barnala, Moga and Faridkot districts also had no record of the use of alcometers as well as speedometers, though the officials concerned acknowledged that some police stations were issued these gadgets.
No challan for overspeeding, 24 deaths in past three months
The Bathinda district alone has witnessed 24 deaths in road accidents in the past three months. In all, 66 mishaps occurred and 72 people were injured. There were only 2 challans of drunken driving during the period and no one was challaned for over speeding.