Four transport officials suspended for negligence, Dept asks DGP to act against police personnel deployed on route

Monday, 24 JUNE 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN

The Transport department suspended four officials for negligence in checking duties at the Tapovan checkpost in Rishikesh on June 15 when the Rudraprayag accident occurred that took the lives of 15 tourists. The joint commissioner of the department Sanat Kumar Singh said that the four transport employees have been found guilty of not checking the vehicle at the Tapovan checkpost established by the department to ensure only those vehicles go ahead that comply with rules. They were suspended based on the recent report of the lead agency. The suspended officials include Tapovan checkpost in-charge Yashveer Singh Bisht, junior assistant Vivek Uniyal, transport sub inspector Mehtab Ali and transport constable Amar Saini. Besides this, two PAC personnel posted at the checkpost were also sent back to their department concerned. Singh said that the department also took action against the in-charges of the mobile squad of the enforcement team transport tax officers Varuna Saini and Jagdish Chandra for not checking the vehicle between the Tapovan checkpost and the accident site in Rudraprayag. Considering that the police personnel are also deployed at this checkpost and on the said route for checking, the department has also asked the officiating director general of police Abhinav Kumar to take disciplinary action against those deployed on duty that day, he said. He informed that the investigation by the department also revealed that there was no connected crash barrier installed at the place where the accident occurred. The parapets that were installed there were not as per the standards, as per the report. The speed limit for vehicles there is 30 kilometres per hour but the department’s team observed that most of the vehicles are overspeeding. Considering this, Singh said that the department has written to the Public Works Department regarding the installation of crash barriers as per the safety standards. Besides this, they will also install rumble strips and white markings on the route near the accident site to ensure the vehicles operate as per the speed limit. He stated that the department has also sent letters to the district magistrates of Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Rudraprayag districts to ensure the implementation of the said safety measures as they are also the chairman of the district road safety committee in their respective districts. Besides this, the department has also proposed to commence a physical verification test for the endorsement of mountainous routes on the driving license from next month. Since inefficient driving by inexperienced drivers is also one of the main reasons for accidents on the mountainside, the department will soon prohibit online service of issuing the hill endorsement on the license, Singh added.