SC notice to UP on checking tribal deaths in road accidents

New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) The Supreme Court today issued notices to the state of Uttar Pradesh on a PIL seeking directions to check the increasing number of tribals being killed in road accidents in Siddarth Nagar district every year.

Counsel for the petitioner, D K Garg, submitted before the bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice D K Jain that around 1500 tribals living in eastern Uttar Pradesh have been killed in road accidents in Siddarth Nagar district since 2003. The 145 km road from Robertsganj to Shakti Nagar has aptly been nicknamed as the 'killer road.' The petitioner, Pankaj Kumar Mishra, has also sought adequate compensation for the victims families who are mostly poor and illiterate Dalit tribals. The victims are killed due to rash and negligent truck drivers who often ply on the road in large numbers.

In an estimated 90 per cent of the cases, victims are unable to identify the hit and run truck. The annual toll on the roads is in the range of 500-600. The road has 20 police stations and 25 offices of the Forest Department but no steps are being taken to check the recurrence of road accidents, Mishra contended.

UNI