NHAI in dock after menfolk of hamlet on National Highway killed in mishaps
Hyderabad High Court
Hyderabad: Expressing dismay at the casual attitude of the authorities of National Highway Authority of India in taking steps to prevent accidents at Peddakunta Thanda in Mahbubnagar district, despite the deaths of 80 men of Thanda in road accidents, the Hyderabad High Court on Monday ordered the manager (technical) of the NHAI to appear before the court to explain whether any subway was in existence at Peddakunta thanda.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S. Ravi Kumar was dealing with a PIL by Ashim Avtar Dash, an IT professional, and two others of the city seeking to direct the Telangana state government to take steps to protect women-folk living in Peddakunta thanda tribal hamlet of Gollapalli village in Mahbubnagar district.
Rachana Waddepalli, appearing for the petitioners brought to the notice of the bench that there are no men left in the thanda as most of the male members of the village lost their lives in road accidents and the village has attained notoriety as a “village of highway widows” and the reason for the tragic condition is that the accidents occurred on the bypass road which connects Hyderabad-Bengaluru Highway No. 44 to the village. She submitted that the thanda consists of 35 huts but there is only one male adult and now practically there are no men left in the village as around 80 men were killed in road accidents.
She said that the villagers had no option but to cross the road to eke out a living and they are being crushed by speeding vehicles. While mentioning that a service road or a subway could have saved their lives, the counsel told the bench that the hapless women, who had lost their breadwinners, were in dire need of help and were being sexually exploited by men from neighbouring villages.
She urged the court to appoint a court commissioner to study the pathetic condition of the women.
After hearing the submission, the bench expressed surprise at the survival of one male in the hamlet and observed that it is very sad to hear that most of men were killed in accidents.
When the bench questioned why the Highway authorities have not built any underpass or subway despite several accidents on the road leading to the hamlet, S.S. Varma, counsel for the NHAI replied that a sub-way is already in existence, but the villagers are not using it.
Ms Rachana objected to the claim of a subway at the village and said that she had visited the village before moving the PIL and she could not find any subway. The bench asked Mr Varma on whose instruction he made the submission and he replied that he made the submission on instructions from Ms Shailaja, manager (technical) at Hyderabad.
The bench ordered the manager to be present on Nov. 16 to explain personally about the claim of having a subway and the distance between subway and the hamlet along with photographs of the subway.
Telangana government told to ensure all bike riders wear helmets:
The Hyderabad High Court on Monday told the TS government to take up an awareness campaign besides taking measures ensuring that two-wheeler rider wears a helmet. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S. Ravi Kumar was dealing with a petition moved in 2010 by Vudataneni Rama Rao of Ranga Reddy district seeking to declare the action of the authorities in not implementing Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules 430 and 486 of the AP Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 which are enforceable with effect from Sept. 1, 1989, as illegal.
A. Sanjeev Kumar, special counsel for the government submitted that the authorities have booked about 49,000 cases against those who failed to wear a helmet. He said that the government has taken steps for implementation of a circular issued, making wearing of helmets compulsory by all two wheeler riders. When the bench asked about the number of two wheelers that are plying in the state, counsel replied that about 40 lakh two-wheelers were registered in the state.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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