Editor,
In 1984 the gas plant in Bhopal which manufactured methyl Isocyanate exploded in the middle of the night. Warren Anderson, the CEO of UCIL, the company involved, managed to escape by air to another country. Around 1500 people lost their lives with thousands suffering bodily defects. Until last month, the widows assembled to protest over non-payment of their pension and unpaid compensation.
In 1986 the then Union Govt framed an act known as Environment Protection Act. The Act was meant to dissuade industries that pollute the environment. This is vital for sustaining life by way of the clean air we breathe and water we drink. Our Dalits, Adivasis, STs and SC – the forest dwellers – still live with fear of being evicted by corporates in charge of mining and deforestation. Subsequently, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was established.
Sadly, the abbreviations in bold letters point to the contrary in Meghalaya. So too our Motor Vehicles Act. In 1966, I was coming from Jowai on a state bus, then run by the Assam State Transport. It was already dark as the bus awaited the opening of the gate at Alu-godown (now Madanrting). The traffic police told the driver to alight so the vehicle could be inspected as it had to go through Shillong city. After inspecting the vehicle, the policeman handed a slip to the driver. Being in the front seat, I was able to read the writing on that slip. It tells the mechanics of the State Transport Department that one right hand side, rear back light was not working. This till date remains a fond remembrance of the strict automobile checking to save precious lives. Today drivers can get past all faults by paying the policemen on duty.
Looking at what goes on right before our eyes, is very sad indeed. Worse is the power assigned to the so-called mobile courts, the moment we attained statehood. This court, far from emulating our traffic police at Madanrting, is more interested in heavy fines. Marketeers had to leave their vehicles and walk many miles as they were overloaded. Time and again our MLAs trying to help poor villagers or office goers or school children have voiced this in the assembly. Their arguments were that the population of bus to car ratio was 10,000 to 1 and there’s no respite from this.
We will also never have Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs), of the likes of two fine gentlemen of Jaiaw and Nongthymmai. As a result we had drivers who tried to save lives and were strictly under the scanner of these MVIs. Today the DTO office is swarming with middlemen even after digitalisation. The MV Acts are never followed. Use of improper windshields and air horns etc., were pointed out in previous letters to the editor. But more needs to be highlighted to save lives. And this is on JCBs.
Twelve years or so ago, a car on its way to Shillong with occupants comprising a family including a grandmother was smashed by a speeding JCB at Khliehriat. All including the grandma died on the spot. The horrible accident was never investigated. How JCBs are allowed to ply on public roads remains a mystery. But looking at the persons who mans this Department whether at the centre or state, one can understand where the rot lies. We never use common sense in understanding definitions. What is a bumper? A bumper is a horizontal metallic bar fixed at the rear and the front, to cushion the impact in case of collision so as to minimise death or Injury. They should be soft and yielding and positioned as close to the ground as is permissible to prevent head injuries as far as practicable. The JCB does not have a bumper. Instead, it has a 9 tonne horizontal blade at its front, protruding one metre each on the right and left, thereby stealing the public road. It’s rear has a vertical woodpecker like 5 ton steel, swaying dangerously sideways. It is used to drill/blast holes on rocks.
The JCB does not pay Road Tax. It is also exempted from pollution checks. Why so? The answer is this: JCBs have to be transported to their workplace on carriers (12or 16 wheelers).Not only that; these carriers should have loading and unloading platforms. Why? Because while loading or unloading, the weight of this machine would lift the front of the truck. And when levelled, the heavy engine of the carrier would crash with a heavy thud and the springs may snap. So too while unloading. On one occasion, I tried to shout at children playing football on the ground where the JCB ( not rubber tyre but steel chains) was being unloaded. The children never bothered to listen. Its childhood DNA.
Many don’t understand that the operator is not a driver, for the JCB in real terms is nothing but an earth mover. The operator may possess a driver’s licence for light or heavy motor vehicle but he/she cannot drive the JCB back home to report to the owner to please them. It has to stay put in its workplace.
On lighting, JCBs have no conventional lights which are vital for safety at night. The bright headlights on the rear shines bright on the driver of the car behind, blinding him/her. There’s no provision for dip or dim – a necessity not to cause a glare on incoming traffic. Any unlucky person could ram into this 25 ton solid steel and that would mean instant death to all inside the vehicle.
It’s very unfortunate that in India these JCBs mingle with the vehicles on public roads. Why are the personnel of the Transport Department meant to look after the safety of precious human lives, especially those that have paid road taxes, ignoring this danger? Interestingly, most of the JCBs in India belong to ministers. And some of them belong to those at their beck and call before elections. Covid appears to have derailed the 2022 National Games hence many JCBs are at present hibernating in the burrows. Yes a few could still be seen racing with BMWs on rumble strips. Only the heavy jerks prevent them from winning the Grand Prix. Some have their hoe and drill broken and are convalescing in welding workshops in town.
I may sound like a school teacher talking to kindergarten kids, explaining all the details of safety that are not worshipped in our country. Let us hope that one day we will see a new dawn when lives are counted as precious which is what every life should be.
Yours etc.,
J. Kharmih
Shillong -1