Jammu: At least five people were killed on Saturday after a vehicle plunged into the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said.
MoS (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh said on X, “Spoke to DC #Kishtwar, Sh. Pankaj Kumar Sharma, after receiving the report of a road accident in the Dachhan area, involving a Scorpio vehicle which rolled down into a deep gorge at Yaivan. Unfortunately, all the 5 passengers travelling in the vehicle lost their lives on the spot. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” he added.
The accident reportedly occurred at around 10.30 a.m. on Saturday. The vehicle, identified as a Scorpio with registration number HR29AG-0648, rolled down into a deep gorge at Yaivan near Tender Nallah, Dachhan.
Five people travelling in the vehicle died on the spot. The identities of the deceased have not been revealed by officials yet.
Hilly districts of Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban and Udhampur are notorious for deadly road accidents. Experts attribute these road accidents to bad road conditions, over-speeding, overloading, road rage and other rash and negligent driving behaviours.
The traffic department has deployed special teams of officials to check these derelictions. RTOs in Jammu and the Valley often advertise punishments for such offences.
In case of a vehicle found driven by a minor, imprisonment for parents in addition to a fine are the prescribed punishments.
Vehicles driven by drivers without licences attract cancellation of registration certificates. Drivers with valid driving licences found involved in rash and negligent driving face cancellation of driving licences.
Petrol pumps have been advised not to supply fuel to two-wheeler drivers who report at the filling station without wearing the crash helmet.
Another traffic menace is stunt biking by the youth on roads and highways. Counselling, parental discretion, cancellation of vehicle registration certificates, and monetary fines are imposed in stunt biking incidents.
–IANS
