Dehradun/Uttarkashi: More than 4,700 people have been killed and over 5,000 injured in around 7,000 road accidents that occurred in Uttarakhand between January 2017 and April 2022, as per state government data which TOI got access to on Monday.
In the first four months of this year, more than 300 people lost their lives while over 400 were injured in about 500 road accidents recorded across the state. The accident data of May, which saw several fatal mishaps involving pilgrims from other states, is yet to be compiled.
On May 25, six people, including five pilgrims from West Bengal, were killed after the taxi they were travelling in fell into a 50m deep gorge near Kotigad village in Kandisaur tehsil of Tehri Garhwal district.
In another road accident involving Char Dham pilgrims, three of them, all from Maharashtra, were killed and 10 others sustained injuries after their vehicle crashed into a gorge in Badkot area of Uttarkashi district on May 27.
According to the police department, there were at least 15 accidents involving two or more deaths, with the Uttarkashi bus accident being the most fatal, claiming 26 lives. In February this year, a pickup vehicle plunged into a deep gorge in Champawat district, leaving 14 dead.
The data also revealed that most of the fatal accidents occurred during Char Dham yatra or the rainy season (the two coincide for around three months), especially in the hill districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Tehri and Rudraprayag.
Sunday's Uttarkashi bus accident at Yamunotri highway has once again raised a question mark on the safety of passengers -- both pilgrims and local villagers -- during the Char Dham season.
In the past, Uttarkashi district has witnessed nearly a dozen major accidents, most of which took place during the yatra.
Experts said that fitness of vehicles, pressure of completing the yatra within a set time period and work overload on drivers are some of the main reasons for these frequent accidents, apart from poor roads, hilly terrain and traffic.
"Earlier, it used to take at least 15 to 20 days to complete the yatra. Now, tour operators have reduced it to seven to 10 days for maximum profit. Some pilgrims also compromise on acclimatisation, travel breaks and avoiding night drives. Apart from this, drivers and vehicle owners take too much work and ignore the fitness of vehicles," said social activist Surat Singh Rawat.
Echoing similar views, another social activist Dwarika Semwal urged government agencies to ensure traffic rules and yatra guidelines are followed stringently. He said: "Police and other relevant departments should restrict traffic movement at night and check the fitness of tourist vehicles more regularly."
