Killings on Roads
By the Editor

THE swelling hapless episodes of day in, day out road mishaps in Pakistan have – by and large – turned into a ritual of ironic nature.

A bona fide and fortified study of this death-defying course exhaustively portrays that the scale of the record tragic accidents – like the one on Thursday, which took still more seven lives of innocent children, whose lovely, smiling and glittering bodies attired in school uniform – were posing a simple question to those at the helms of affairs – as to what was their fault for this ‘punishment’ – to them and their ill-fated parents?

The episode which took place near Sheikhupura in Punjab – also left almost a dozen fellows of the dead – to survive, but in a precarious condition – with most of them in broken limbs.

As the reports say a nasty truck driver hit the vehicle of the kids – and managed to escape, as happens very often.

No one knows – whether any-one shall take notice of this tragedy or not. Yet, as a matter of reality – hardly any day passes when the awful road accidents do not take place.

Virtually, this is a story of a single day – which is far fewer than the those which in fact take place in assorted vicinities – explicitly – in the rural terrain, detached from the enticing and 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 calamities to an eternal end.

It is difficult to access – as to how many guiltless lives vanish in a spur of moment at the hands of a few wicked and wild vested interests – composed of a bunch of illicit species—for the sake of a few coins.

At the same time, no one is – unfortunately – upset and 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 and 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 and reckless drivers, the owners of the flabby vehicles, the mechanical surveyors and examiners, the driving license issuing authorities, the traffic police and 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 cozy and comfy cabs and wireless radars – obviously not as lavishness, 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 and all-inclusive ways and means.

Thus, it is 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 and powerful’ scruffy and 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 overseers.

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 – also required to be put into effect in a tangible way.

All licenses – issued by now – are required to be scrutinized and 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 and the innocent – who are perpetually the victims – expect and hope that their elected-representatives—the Legislators—shall take-up the plight of their electorates by getting the genocide on pathways, highways, streets and 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.

We would also like to ask the government to re-assess its plans of granting vehicles – on lease – through Banks in Pakistan.

This ‘liberal policy’ – by all means – has created enormous traffic problems instead of resolving them – due to the issuance of cars, vans, wagons, trucks and identical vehicles – the digit of which is mounting at a swift pace, posing threats to human lives.●