ISLAMABAD: The dilapidated state of roads, absence of safety walls and frequent movement of Indian military convoys contribute to daily traffic accidents in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), which saw 4,278 loss of lives just from 2018 to 2022 despite double lockdown, because of Covid-19 and military siege during the years of 2020 and 2021.
According to a report by the IIOJK’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), an alarming total of 4,287 lives were tragically lost due to road accidents from 2018 to 2022 in IIOJK.
The report reveals 984 lives succumbed to road accidents in 2018, followed by 996 in 2019.
In Covid-19 and military siege-hit years of 2020 and 2021, the numbers came down with 728 and 774 deaths respectively.
A notable portion of the road fatalities in IIOJ&K were attributed to accidents on national highways, particularly in hilly Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban areas of the Jammu region. The dangerous road conditions between Jammu to Srinagar and Jammu to Doda-Kishtwar have led to numerous accidents.
According to Firdous Tak, a PDP leader from the region, identifies overloading, no crash barriers, bad roads and inadequate buses as the four prime reasons for frequent road accidents in hilly Doda-Kishtwar. —APP
