Highway of Death...

Picture Courtesy: Kuensel

A double lane highway is a new phenomenon in our country. The intentions behind such projects are, without a shadow of doubt, noble and farsighted. Living in the mountainous terrain, there is no denying that faster mode of communication has brought in benefits beyond our comprehension both at individuals level and at national level. 

Paro-Thimphu highway and Thimphu-P/ling highway are today a living example for us. The successful completion of project has brought in myriad economic benefits. Journey which took commuters more than 2 hours in the past can be done in less than an hour now. It has come as  a real boon for many. The movement of people who work in Paro, living in Thimphu and vice-versa are nothing but an evidence to this advancement. The improved road condition helped people save cost on fuel and time on journey. 

Not far away, the same kind of projects are taking place in different locations. Road widening on Wangdi-Trongsa highway and S/jongkahr and T/gang, I believe are in full swing too. Despite the hardships we face while travelling we still fancy having good road more than anything else. We are Bhutanese and we like experiencing new stuffs. 

In many a case, our experience with our new improved road so far has been anything but a tragedy. Literally speaking, a thing of double lane road zig-zagging among the mountains is by far a foreign to many and is a new culture by any definition. And sadly one  predicament of being Bhutanese is that we are very susceptible to culture shocks. This shock waves are claiming lives and bringing us pains and sorrows of unbearable magnitude.  I am talking about road accidents here!

If I am not wrong, this is fourth such news I have heard in my recent past. Most of the casualties included a whole family members dying in their dream car. The latest news was about an accident on Thimphu-Paro highway which claimed 2 lives; -my long time friend and his 2 years old daughter. I call this the heart  breaking news.

With his demise it brought me many questions about the road safety standards in our country. I think I am not being very harsh when I say that concern authorities have failed us here. It is the most regrettable thing that we get our driving documents seized and fined in the town even for looking at our phone, while the condition on the high ways are woefully neglected. We could do lot to avert such accidents  imparting safety informations. A regular check in highways are therefore highly recommended. 

I have survived the worse road crash in the town in my recent past. Therefore it's through my personal experience that I can tell my readers that an accident in the town might damage your cars, and in worse case cause minor  injuries to our  health. But the accident on unregulated and (un) facilitated highways in mists and fog, are costing lives of our loved ones.

With this, I am suggesting to our concern authorities to also give, if not more, an equal attention to our highway commuters. Doing regular check on the highway could be one thing. DAILY CHECKING of  the speed of a cars using speedometers on the highways could be another thing. Speeders should be counseled, cautioned ans penalized. And lastly but not the least, have road safety offices on the highways manned by officials who would not only check documents but also provide safety information  and say 'have a nice day and go home safely'