High Court notice to state govt, HRTC on road accidents

Concerned over rising number of bus accidents in the state, Himachal Pradesh High Court today issued notices to the state government and Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) and sought reply within a week.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary passed the orders on a petition filed by Ajay Sipahiya and others from Solan, treating it as a Public Interest Litigation.
The Court directed the government to file reply within a week and apprise it of steps taken by it to prevent occurrences of vehicular accidents.
Citing various newspapers reports, the petitioners claimed that during 2014, 557 people have been killed and 2,612 injured in 1,422 accidents reported till June 30.

They highlighted shortage of drivers in HRTC saying it has only 3,100 drivers to run 2,000 buses which works out to just three drivers for two buses, and taking into account the drivers going on leave due to illness or other reasons, their number per bus comes down further.
The petitioners also pointed out that the HRTC was running 300 very old buses, endangering the lives of commuters as well as other road users.
They alleged that private buses were indulging in reckless driving by untrained drivers who pose constant threat to the life of commuters and others.
The Court directed the government to explore possibilities of creation of the posts of Mobile Traffic Magistrate in each district and posted the matter for September 17.