Looking for answers: SHC wants joint investigation report of Khairpur accident from NHA, police
Court to determine responsibility for Nov 11 accident
SUKKUR:
The Sindh High Court (SHC) Sukkur bench on Wednesday ordered the National Highway Authority (NHA), Motorway Police and Khairpur district police to submit a joint investigation report about the Khairpur road accident at the next hearing.
The SHC division bench, comprising Justice Irfan Saadat and Justice Shahab Sarki, issued this directive on two constitutional petitions filed by lawyers Shams Rajpar and Shabir Shar following the tragic accident on November 11 that killed 59 people and left 18 injured. According to the petitioners, Highway N-5 is in abysmal condition from Ubauro to Hyderabad and lacks proper signposts, due to which fatal accidents take place on a regular basis. They further alleged that funds meant for highway construction and maintenance were misused, causing inordinate delays in roadwork.
"It is the NHA's duty to provide properly signaled diversion routes before commencing construction work, but this was not done and the highway has become a death trap," said the petitioners. They also blamed the Motorway police for not performing its duties, due to which road accidents had become rampant on the N-5, and asked for them to be held accountable as well, with proper compensation given to the families of the victims.
Representing the NHA, Advocate Zubair Rajput held the driver of the ill-fated coach responsible, alleging that he was asleep at the time of the accident. However, Shar refuted this claim, saying that the NHA had already admitted that there were three drivers in the coach, alternating in six-hour shifts. He added that the coach had stopped for a tea break a few kilometres before the Thehri Bypass, and so the question of the driver being asleep didn't arise. Instead, he claimed that it was the bump on the highway that had caused the coach to collide with the truck.
After hearing the arguments, the court ordered the NHA, the Motorway Police and the Khairpur district police to prepare a joint investigation report about the accident and submit it to the court on December 23, the next date of hearing, in order to ascertain responsibility.
Violating orders
Despite clear orders by Sukkur commissioner Mohammad Abbas Baloch, public transport plying between Punjab and Karachi still frequently uses the old National Highway from Khairpur to Shaheed Benazirabad in violation of the route permit. According to sources, these vehicles avoid using this route during the day, but travel on it freely at night.
Motorway Police Sukkur SP Faisal Chachar confirmed this practice. "We are trying to stop them from using the old National Highway and many of them have been fined," he said. He added that the Motorway Police could not perform its duties without the cooperation of the district police, saying that he had written a letter to the Kandiyaro sector commander asking him to check the route permits of vehicles. "We are doing what we can, but some drivers try to block the road when we fine them for overloading their vehicles, speeding or violating route permits," he said. He also recommended the construction of speed-breakers on link roads to avoid accidents.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2014.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) Sukkur bench on Wednesday ordered the National Highway Authority (NHA), Motorway Police and Khairpur district police to submit a joint investigation report about the Khairpur road accident at the next hearing.
The SHC division bench, comprising Justice Irfan Saadat and Justice Shahab Sarki, issued this directive on two constitutional petitions filed by lawyers Shams Rajpar and Shabir Shar following the tragic accident on November 11 that killed 59 people and left 18 injured. According to the petitioners, Highway N-5 is in abysmal condition from Ubauro to Hyderabad and lacks proper signposts, due to which fatal accidents take place on a regular basis. They further alleged that funds meant for highway construction and maintenance were misused, causing inordinate delays in roadwork.
"It is the NHA's duty to provide properly signaled diversion routes before commencing construction work, but this was not done and the highway has become a death trap," said the petitioners. They also blamed the Motorway police for not performing its duties, due to which road accidents had become rampant on the N-5, and asked for them to be held accountable as well, with proper compensation given to the families of the victims.
Representing the NHA, Advocate Zubair Rajput held the driver of the ill-fated coach responsible, alleging that he was asleep at the time of the accident. However, Shar refuted this claim, saying that the NHA had already admitted that there were three drivers in the coach, alternating in six-hour shifts. He added that the coach had stopped for a tea break a few kilometres before the Thehri Bypass, and so the question of the driver being asleep didn't arise. Instead, he claimed that it was the bump on the highway that had caused the coach to collide with the truck.
After hearing the arguments, the court ordered the NHA, the Motorway Police and the Khairpur district police to prepare a joint investigation report about the accident and submit it to the court on December 23, the next date of hearing, in order to ascertain responsibility.
Violating orders
Despite clear orders by Sukkur commissioner Mohammad Abbas Baloch, public transport plying between Punjab and Karachi still frequently uses the old National Highway from Khairpur to Shaheed Benazirabad in violation of the route permit. According to sources, these vehicles avoid using this route during the day, but travel on it freely at night.
Motorway Police Sukkur SP Faisal Chachar confirmed this practice. "We are trying to stop them from using the old National Highway and many of them have been fined," he said. He added that the Motorway Police could not perform its duties without the cooperation of the district police, saying that he had written a letter to the Kandiyaro sector commander asking him to check the route permits of vehicles. "We are doing what we can, but some drivers try to block the road when we fine them for overloading their vehicles, speeding or violating route permits," he said. He also recommended the construction of speed-breakers on link roads to avoid accidents.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2014.