SHANTHA (CHOPAL), SEPTEMBER 3:
One school girl was killed and seven others, most of them schoolchildren, were seriously injured when a private vehicle skidded off a slippery stretch near Shantha village on the Chopal-Shantha- Dewat road and plunged into a deep gorge on Thursday near Jhahdi.
The deceased was identified as Sakshi, daughter of Ramesh, a resident of Shantha. Sakshi succumbed on the way to Chopal hospital as there was no first aid available at PHC Deot, resented the accident victims.
The vehicle was carrying the children towards Shantha and Duina villages after school hours. The fall was so severe that Fortuner vehicle was reduced to a mangled remains but victims fell on the way when it rolled down the steep slope.
Though the police have yet to investigate the exact cause of accident, but locals say the bad road condition and lack of crash barriers contributed to the accident.
The tragedy was compounded by glaring gaps in emergency healthcare. The injured were taken to Civil Hospital Chopal, but the hospital reportedly had no functional X-ray facility, leaving doctors unable to carry out basic diagnostic assessment. The one student was in critical condition was subsequently referred to IGMC Shimla.
There was no ambulance at Civil Hospital Chopal that added to the crisis. With the available 108 ambulance deployed to Shimla, there was no effective standby vehicle, forcing relatives to arrange private transport and oxygen cylinders for critically injured patient.
The condition of other children was also serious. But no diagnostic facilities were available to ascertain the health status of other children including the driver of the vehicle though doctors attending on them said they were out of danger.
The incident has exposed the state of disaster preparedness in the remote subdivision. Although SDM Chopal reached the accident site, residents questioned the absence of a coordinated emergency response once the victims reached the hospital, including the failure to ensure basic diagnostic and ambulance facilities.
Road safety conditions are equally alarming. Villagers said the Chopal-Shantha-Dewat and Kumra road, and many other PMGSY roads including the main Nerwa-Chopal -Theog state highway are riddled with potholes, while several dangerous stretches lack crash barriers.
The Chopal-Dewat road has deteriorated further during the monsoon, with potholes and loose, slippery material making driving hazardous. Residents alleged that essential pre-monsoon and post-monsoon repairs have not been carried out adequately.
In the steep terrain, the absence of crash barriers along deep gorges leaves little margin for error. The Shantha accident has once again demonstrated the potentially fatal consequences.
Balbir Verma, a three-time local MLA's role has also come under scrutiny, while the condition of Civil Hospital Chopal has raised questions over the Sukhu government's claims of strengthening peripheral healthcare.
Residents say the hospital continues to face shortages of doctors, staff, diagnostic facilities and ambulances despite catering to a large rural population.
Similar concerns have been raised over Civil Hospital Nerwa.
The Shantha tragedy has brought into sharp focus three critical failures in Chopal—unsafe, poorly maintained roads; missing crash barriers; and inadequate emergency healthcare.
Residents are demanding immediate road repairs, protection of accident-prone stretches and restoration of basic diagnostic and emergency services at Chopal hospital.
Why there is no standby ambulance at Civil Hospital? Chief Minister had air dashed to Chopal Nerwa recently, but the peripheral health care and Roads remain in bad shape.
Is CM Sukhu listening?
#Chopal #HimachalPradesh #RoadSafety #Healthcare
REACTION:
1 This sad state of affairs need immediate attention. The safety of people should be first priority of the government. The conditions of roads and infrastructure should be given top priority in hill state.
In fact roads are lifeline for development of people since there is no alternative mode of transportation
-DK MANTA, HAS Retd (Life time member of Indian Institute of public administration, NewDelhi), SHIMLA.
