MIRPUR: Buses snaking around mountainside roads, skidding off, tumbling down and crashing, followed by fatalities reported in the news.
Such a sequence has been alarmingly frequent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir of late. It seems this is no coincidence. Poor driving, sharp turns and dilapidated vehicles and roads are all partially to blame. But another major stumbling block to safe travel has been the transport mafia, which is allegedly backed by politicians with vested interests.
Multinationals and reliable Pakistani transport companies have offered their services to improve transport conditions in AJK. Their repeated attempts to bring in brand-new buses have been stalled by the local transport mafia. The introduction of modern public transport on inter-district and inter-city routes would adversely affect the business of local transporters who naturally want to keep their public service vehicles on the road.
“Where will we go if multinational companies introduce their latest services?” said Rehman Chaudhry, who operates an 18-seater wagon service from Mirpur to various cities in Punjab. He suggested that the government offer loans with good terms to local transporters so they themselves can start using better vehicles.
Asked about the common public complaint about overloading of passengers on inter-district routes, Rehman admitted that the transporters were forced to do this because of the rising prices of fuel.
Sajid Adalat, who gets on a bus every day from Islamgargh town to Mirpur, accused the local transporters of over-charging in addition to over-seating.
When contacted, the minister for transport in AJK, Tahir Kokher, asserted that the trend of over-charging and over-loading was being countered in letter and spirit. He referred to the recently-launched drive against overcharging of fares by the transporters on the Muzaffarabad to Neelam Valley route, in which a tariff had been fixed by the AJK transport authorities.
Kokher told The Express Tribune that a new transport policy would be announced soon. “At present, legislation to this effect is in progress by the concerned authorities,” the minister said.
He revealed that under the new proposed transport policy, vehicles which are over 30-years-old would be banned across AJK. The main purpose of the policy was to bring in modern vehicles. Indeed, the minister added that the Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO), based in Gilgit-Baltitstan, has been invited to launch their service on inter-district and inter-city routes in AJK.
Asked about the frequent accidents, the minister said that dilapidated highways in certain parts are to blame. He also agreed that the issuing of driver’s licences needed to be reformed. Kokher also mentioned plans for a driving training academy.
Adil Mahmood Khan, secretary of the AJK Transport Authority, took a strong stance, saying that the monopoly of certain transporter groups needed to be tackled, and that loans should be made available to entrepreneurs wishing to bring in up-to-date buses.
He also pointed to the following necessary measures: reservation of sites for modern bus stands, a new system for issuing route permits, fitness certificates and registration of all vehicles.
A local senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said that the AJK police was contemplating a new traffic warden system, replacing the present traffic police. He said that only an appropriate raise in the salaries of traffic police could discourage bribes which allowed unfit vehicles or bad drivers to continue on the roads. He also disclosed that a new process was being touted which would ensure only fully-trained drivers received licences.
The views when driving around AJK are often described as breathtaking. One hopes that new measures - and buses - are introduced so that ‘breathtaking’ is not literally applicable with such regularity.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ