Yet another fatal truck crash puts Asharodi road safety measures under scanner
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
A truck cleaner was killed and the driver injured after a rice laden truck reportedly suffered brake failure and crashed into a tree near Asharodi Road on Thursday morning. The accident has raised fresh concerns over road safety in the Asharodi-Mohabbewala area, where another major collision was reported just nine days earlier.
Despite efforts by the Dehradun police, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD) to improve safety through additional signboards, rubber strips and round the clock patrolling by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), accidents continue to occur on the stretch.
The truck was transporting rice from Sonipat in Haryana. The deceased was identified as Rishikesh resident Vikas, the injured driver as Bobby. Local residents alleged that the ambulance and crane took about 30 minutes to reach the accident site. They also raised concerns over the lack of a permanently stationed ambulance in the area, despite repeated accidents. Residents claimed that the ambulance arrived only after officials reached the spot.
The impact crushed the front portion of the truck, while parts of the cleaner’s body reportedly became trapped in the tree.
On October 6, a cement laden truck had rammed into an India Reserve Battalion (IRB) bus near the Asharodi check post, overturning it and injuring seven people, including IRB personnel. The truck also hit a motorcycle.
