Pauri accident effect: Uttrakhand govt to act tough against errant drivers

The Trivendra Singh Rawat government in Uttarakhand has directed police and other authorities to take stern action against drivers of public or private vehicles who violate traffic rules.

The state government directive comes days after 48 people were killed after a bus rolled in to a gorge in Pauri district. A heavily overloaded 28-seater bus was carrying all the passengers, officials said.

Yesterday, the Uttarakhand High Court had taken cognisance of the accidentand directed authorities to file a reply before it by July 20.

The division bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice Sharad Sharma had sought the response of the state's transport secretary, transport commissioner, Garhwal and Kumaon commissioners, regional transport authorities of Pauri, Dehradun, Almora and Haldwani and DIGs of Garhwal and Kumaon.

In the state capital today, Secretary (Transport) D Senthil Pandiyan in a letter to Uttarakhand DGP, the transport commissioner, Kumaon and Garhwal commissioners, police and administrative heads of all districts sought tough action against drivers found guilty of overloading, over-speeding, drunken driving or jumping the red light.

Asking officials to strictly enforce traffic rules in the state which has an uneven topography at a number of places in the hills, Pandiyan said even the Supreme Court has recommended suspension of licences for at leastthree months for such offences.

Strict adherence to traffic rules is a must as the state government has set a target of reducing road accidents by 50 per cent by 2020, Pandiyan said. He also asked them to bring to book people found driving their private vehicles rashly in public places and thus endangering the safety of others.