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Murders on the Roads
by
Mumtaz Hamid Rao
The swelling hapless episodes of day in, day out road
mishaps in Pakistan have—by n’ large—turned into a ritual of paradoxical
nature. A bona fide n’ fortified study of this death-defying course
exhaustively portrays that the scale of the chronicled cataclysmic
accidents—like the one on Monday, which took over 30 loved lives in a
single day—is far fewer than the those which in fact take place in
assorted vicinities—explicitly—the rural terrain, detached from the
enticing n’ mesmerizing life-size cities.
Global set-ups can—conveniently—evaluate the
mortality-rate any where in the world via their set parameters, yet
sardonically nothing is in existence to gauge the magnitude of carnage
on the roads nor does any dominant shot, set off to cease the day-to-day
catastrophes to an eternal end. No one knows as to how many guiltless
lives vanish in a spur of moment at the hands of a few wicked n’ wild
vested interests—composed of a bunch of illicit species—for the sake of
a few elfin coins.
At the same time, no one is—unfortunately—upset n’
uptight vis-à-vis the reality that the unvarying lust-for-money [by a
crazy class of egocentrics] is inserting the jovial adolescents into the
index of orphans n’ juvenile brides as widows plus innocent parents into
a state of a undeviating anguish—with the frequent lifting of copious
funerals just in one go. And even no one has a compassion on such a
dilemma, exploding with the advent of almost every dawn. It’s plainly a
callous state of affairs.
Who is to be held liable? It’s not complex to weigh up as
the heartless sky-rocketing raw n’ reckless drivers, the title-holders
of the flabby vehicles, the mechanical surveyors n’ examiners, the
driving license issuing authorities, the traffic police n’ above all
every-one related to the business, from top to bottom—stands accountable
for such ill-fated occurrences.
Even with scant funds, a heavier yoke—is being placed on
the national coffers—just to match the ‘pulsating traffic detectives’
with the needs of the 21st century epoch. Such groups are being even
equipped with dexterous gadgets like cosy n’ comfy cabs n’ wireless
radars—obviously not as opulence, but to shield the humankind—which is
being impeached via escalating road mishaps—just for indispensable
cruise from one place to another to survive.
Obviously such a risky scenario can not be allowed to
persist unabated. An instant cognizance of this corrupt practice—at all
levels—needs to be addressed as a top priority through combined n’
all-inclusive ways n’ means. It is thus imperative that as an outset
measure the real ownership of all the vehicles—plying cold-bloodedly on
all routes across the country be fixed to uncover the ‘full-throttled n’
powerful’ scruffy n’ shady faces—to take them to task as they are deemed
as the perceptible cause of the frequent accident—both as the merchants,
operators plus overseer.
Without the evaporation of such a setting how can a poor
cop can cage a repulsive violator of the traffic rules, the driver. The
motor vehicle law should—simultaneously—be put into effect in a tangible
way. All licenses—issued by now—are required to be scrutinized n’ even
seized, specifically when a pricey issuance of computerized driving
licenses has been kicked off with a fantastic zest. A meticulous
re-checks of all the vehicles—irrespective of ones’ sway is likewise
vital to put the outlived ones into a ditch or den—of course with any
commuter. Initiation of a strict driving test, requisite course, for all
the pliers, irrespective of status and gender, strong-worded
instructions to traffic constables and on-time maintenance of signals is
all the more is necessary along with proper maintenance of roads and
highways to avert the loss of precious lives with no fault on their part
at all.
The poor—who are perpetually the victims—expect n’ hope
that their elected-representatives—the Legislators—shall take-up the
plight of their electorates by getting the genocide on pathways,
highways, streets n’ even on boulevard—with mounting travel
accidents—stopped at-once, side-by-side clutching their peculiar
political plans—in whatever fashion they wish—lest the killings on roads
blow up as a volcanic emission for any-one.
The author is a noted journalist, political analyst and ex-Director News Pakistan TV. He
is a regular
contributor to
Media Monitors Network (MMN).
Source:
by courtesy & © 2003 Mumtaz Hamid Rao
by the same
author:
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