M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Sept 13: Use of safety belts by the occupants of cars in Palamu is something ‘below dignity’ by the neo-rich here who thus put their lives in the utmost peril.
NH 75 passes through the school hub in Chiyanki and then through the heavy traffic town’s locations Redma and Bairya Chowk. However, no car occupant is ever found using their safety belt.
Lagatar24.com correspondent spoke to some car owners about their callous indifference to the safety belt. Their replies were shocking.
One car owner said, “You don’t need to put on a safety belt in Palamu. Here, cattle sit right on the NH. Sometimes Nilgai also takes a walk down the NH like the one in Chhatarpur.”
Others said, “We know why this question is asked now. Tata Sons ex-chairman Cyrus Mistry died in his Mercedes car and he had no safety belt around him.” None said that they would use a safety belt from now onwards.
Palamu DC Anjaneyulu Dodde on Monday held a meeting of the Sadak Surakchha Samiti. He asked SDOs of Sadar, Chhaterpur and Hussainabad to crack down on wine being served in the line hotel across the NH or the state highway.
SDO Sadar Rajesh Kumar Sah with district excise officer Bimla Lakra and her team raided 3 line hotels across NH 75 late in the evening of Monday. The district excise chief found wine with the food before a traveller in the line hotel. It is said the travellers bring wine with them which they perforce uncork in the line hotel despite the warning by the line hotel management.
Helmet is enforced here by the civil and police administrations as bikers are more prone to road accidents in Palamu.
There have been 57 road accidents from June to August in Palamu in which 46 people died and 40 were injured, according to an official note.
