| Flouting norms, 35000 unfit vehicles plying on JK roads | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 16: Even as the road safety happens to be a major concern for lakhs of commuters, the issue of thousands of unfit vehicles plying on different roads of the state is yet to be addressed by the Transport department.
As many as 35,000 commercial and non-commercial vehicles out of total 13 lakh such vehicles are plying on different roads of the state without getting the mandatory fitness certificate as well as permits thereby putting lives of commuters at risk.
The majority of unfit and without permit vehicles are plying in Kashmir province where there number stands at 25,000 while the figure for such vehicles in Jammu region is 10,000.
The problem of unfit vehicles viz a viz the non-possession of permits in winter capital of the state has increased manifold over the years as around 3500 vehicles comprising Auto Rickshaws, Pick Up Vans and Tractor Trolley are running on city roads without necessary formalities of fitness certificate and permits.
While the tractors are being purchased on subsidy by the farmers for cultivation and irrigation purposes but in actual they are being used for other objectives other than farming.
Trolleys are being attached with tractors to carry sand, crushed stone, bricks and other building materials which is simply non-adherance of laid down rules and laws since the tractors are categorized as non-commercial vehicle for personal usage only for which permit is not necessitated.
The state of Jammu & Kashmir has 13, 15,830 commercial as well as non-commercial vehicles registered with the different Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) spread across the state.
While the Jammu region has 7, 95,270 registered commercial as well as non-commercial vehicles, its counterpart Kashmir province has 5, 20,560 registered commercial and non-commercial vehicles.
The Transport department is trying hard to formulate ways and means to counter the menace of unfit vehicles but the steps taken so far have not yielded the desired results.
Though the number of unfit and without permit vehicles running on different parts of the state is still not that alarming if compared the figures with some neighboring states, however, the time has come when the department has to take stringent steps to ensure that not even a single vehicle without permit or in poor condition is allowed to ply on roads in order to make sure the safety of vehicle operators, passengers as well as the pedestrians. |
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