Balochistan is the most backward and ignored province of Pakistan where people are denied basic services, including decent travel facilities, in absence of comprehensive road network.
Balochistan is the most backward and ignored province of Pakistan where people are denied basic services, including decent travel facilities, in absence of comprehensive road network.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s richest province in natural resources where people are still not having better travel facilities in absence of basic infrastructure or the road network. In most of cases, transporters were found investing ten millions on buying new buses and trucks but due to poor constructions of roads, the vehicles are reduced to junks within few years while Karachi buses are operating for the past 50 years or more.
The Joint Investigation Team has completed its inquiry in a fatal accident in which more than 27 people were burnt to death in Lasbela and submitted to Chief Minister Balochistan.
The JIT revealed that, the National Highway Authority (NHA) is responsible for the Lasbela incident as NHA has not displayed signs boards of sharp curve at RCD highway but due to lack of traffic safety sign boards the trailer took turn on one of sharp curves at Quetta-Karachi highway.
The initial report held responsible coaches and trailer’s drivers who committed negligence on Pakistan’s busiest RCD highways.
It is also important for the truck drivers that they should also be equally competent to drive the vehicle for long distances to deliver cargo from one part of the country to another. The Government and the policy makers in the field of road safety should realize their responsibility to train and educate the illiterate bus and truck drivers so that major road accidents should be reduced to minimum restoring the confidence of the common people using road transport as a reliable means of transport.
The report recommended that “Due to mountainous area often drivers unable to see ahead on sharp curves but from flexible engineering designs the curves can be better.
In Daily routine more than 800 vehicles traveled between Quetta- Karachi highway but NHA and provincial government don’t have any mechanism to monitor the fitness of passenger coaches and heavy vehicle and their speed limits.
The Joint Investigation Team also recommended to expand the Quetta- Karachi highways into two way road the accidents caused by speedy take over could be prevented.
Earlier in 2017 The NHA has decided to establish Emergency Response Centres on major highways in Balochistan providing assistance and emergency treatment facilities to the injured persons in road accidents and particularly at the nearest place.
There is a severe criticism on the NHA or on the Ministry of Communication that it had allocated a very small amount of money in the recent past national budget for building highways in Balochistan which is more than half of rest of Pakistan. It was considered discriminatory to deny development funds for building more and better highways in Balochistan which lacks basic infrastructure.
Accidents are frequently reported from all parts of Balochistan needing attention of the Government and the decision-makers should ensure road safety and security of passengers traveling on public transport.
National Highway Authority (NHA) is only the authority to who is responsible for the maintaining of the highways in Balochistan and should play its role for the eradication of road accident incidents which claimed hundreds of lives in tragic road accidents at RCD highways in past few years in Balochistan.
National Highways Authority is the department who is collecting huge funds for roads constructions from the government, NHA should cooperate with the Balochistan government for the constructions of two way road from Karachi to Quetta RCD highway to avoid massive traffic incidents in future.