Pauri roads turn accident-prone

DEHRADUN: Pauri Garhwal, where at-least 48 persons died in an accident on Sunday, was among the top three districts with the most number of accidents among all hill districts, a recent survey by the Uttarakhand police had revealed.

The survey found that the maximum number of accidents in the hill districts this year have happened because of over-speeding and negligence by drivers.

In Sunday’s accident also, the police believe the cause could be over-speeding resulting in the driver, who died in the accident, losing control at a blind curve. However, the police said the exact reason would be known only after detailed investigation. Both driver and the conductor of the 28 seater bus died in the accident. Kewal Khurana, deputy

inspector general, traffic, said: “We found that in majority of the cases in the hill districts, overspeeding was the cause of accidents.”

The survey covered eight hill districts including Pauri Garhwal, Almora, Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal and Chamoli. As highest number of accidents. This figure will change dramatically with 48 persons losing their lives in one of the worst accidents in Uttarakhand in recent years.

In the survey period from January to end of May, 15 accidents were reported from Pauri resulting in seven deaths and 24 injured. However, Sunday’s accident was the first in Pauri district involving a bus, the survey revealed.

Khurana said they found that in the hill districts mostly the vehicles driven by local drivers were involved in accidents even though the region received a heavy traffic during Chardham Yatra that starts in June. “One of the causes for the accidents in the hill districts was drivers not having enough sleep. It was also found that they often indulged in over-speeding on roads there which are not in a good condition,” said Khurana.