Yet another tragic road accident, involving a bus with picnicking school children must galvanise all stakeholders into action. Road accidents are inevitable in extreme situations, yet they are avoidable too. The frequency of road accidents in Kashmir valley has assumed quite alarming proportions. In the case of the Tangmarg accident, which claimed some lives and inflicted injuries to a number of other children, there are some clear lessons. The first lesson is related to road safety. Kashmir roads have become gruesome killing fields of sorts. If one looks at the roads leading to picnic destinations today, the situation is appalling. The Tangmarg-Gulmarg road condition is an example in itself. Somewhere R&B Department needs to be held accountable for the shameful condition of this road and all the accidents that happen on it almost on daily basis. On Tangmarg school bus accident responsibilities also need to be fixed about the missing parapet at the spot on the Baramulla-Tangmarg Road where the accident occurred. It is time government seriously undertakes fixing the vital roads leading to Kashmir’s picnic destinations. The second lesson relates to vehicle safety. In J&K, in particular, day in and day out we witness accidents involving public transport vehicles which would easily fail any safety tests because of their faulty engineering designs. The clearance authorities in the Transport Department need to be held accountable for that. The third, and the most important, responsibility lies with the schools and the Education Department. Schools must ensure use of vehicles which are travel-worthy. The Education Department needs to come up with guidelines for travel safety which must be adhered to by schools. Education Department’s knee-jerk reaction of de-recognising the school which had arranged the picnic for its students lacks logic and wisdom. Similarly, its directive banning school picnics to Pahalgam is ill-advised. Kashmiri children need recreation badly, and summer months provide a rare window of that opportunity. Let the goal be safety, not bans and avoiding responsibility.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST