Crash barriers could have saved the lives, say locals
DEHRADUN/MUSSOORIE : Locals in Uttarkashi district’s Damta, where 26 people were killed after a bus they were travelling in fell into 250-metre-deep gorge on Sunday evening, said had there been crash barriers on the road, there was a possibility that the accident could have been prevented.
Chaman Singh Chauhan, member of Yamuna Ghati Hotel Association in Uttarkashi, said: “We reached the spot within half an hour of the accident that occurred around 7.00 pm and by then police and local villagers had also reached. But sadly, there was not a single parapet or no crash barriers on the road. Crash barriers could have possibly helped in preventing the accident.”
Suresh Semwal, a resident of Damta, said: “The absence of crash barriers on the yatra route is posing risk to the lives of the commuters especially the pilgrims who come for darshan with a lot of faith. The government should ensure that such incidents are not repeated otherwise it will send create negative image of the state. For the safety of the passengers, the government should put crash barriers on the roads in higher reaches where any accident can be fatal given the terrain.”
Soban Singh Rana, president of Yamuna Ghati Hotel Association, said no crash barriers or parapets were set up at the area that could have prevented the bus from rolling down into the gorge. “But there are only some reflectors that had no strength to take the weight of a bus,” he said.
When questioned about the absence of crash barriers at the accident site on Yamunotri highway, Uttarkashi DM Abhishek Ruhela said ideally it was desirable that crash barriers should be all along the road length.
“There were delineator poles with electric tapes at the site, which the bus broke while rolling down into the gorge. But crash barrier is an expensive solution. “So, they are put on roads in dangerous zones, risky turns, and narrow points. On allweather, crash barriers are being set up. This stretch where the accident took place is yet to be widened under Char Dham all-weather road,” Ruhela said.
Shalini Negi, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Barkot in Uttarkashi, admitted that crash barriers were not there at the accident site. “Crash barriers are not along the whole stretches of roads. They are on some stretches and not on some stretches.” JP Bijalwan, in charge of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in Uttarkashi, who led the rescue operation, said the bus had been smashed into two big pieces as it rolled down the slope, scattering the passengers deep into the gorge.
“It was a very steep gorge. Around 35 SDRF personnel, including me, went into the gorge, most of the others using a mountain path to reach the area deep down in the gorge. Some of the body parts were hanging from tree branches and among the bushes. Many bodies were mangled due to the impact of the fall into the gorge. Due to difficult terrain and darkness, we completed the recovery of all 26 bodies by 2.30 am. It took us nearly seven hours.”
When asked whether crash barriers could have stopped the accident, he said crash barriers work mostly in the case of small vehicles. “If the speed is around 40 km per hour, then crash barriers may work, especially in the case of small vehicles. But if the vehicle is over-speeding, then crash barriers can’t be of any help,” Bijalwan said.
9 couples from MP dead
On Sunday night when Madhya Pradesh’s Jagdish Sharma heard about the accident, the only thought came to his mind was of regret. He convinced his elderly parents to go for Yatra despite they expressing apprehension, saying they are “afraid of hills”.