These killer-trallas, which ideally belong to the roads in the flat plains, were mercilessly thrust onto the winding, steep roads of Shimla and other Districts mainly for the apple season.
These overloaded or even empty ones, are being plied by the traders on the hill roads, which have become a new nightmare for the people travelling mainly on the Shimla-Kufri-Narkanda and on the Rohru-Kharapathar-Kotkhai-Chaila-Parala roads these days to taking apple to the markets.
In a tragedy near Chaila, a tralla driver lost control, toppling sideways and crushing a couple in their car, while occupants of two other vehicles, which were also crushed badly, had a miraculous escape. The horrifying accident was caught live on camera by an onlooker documenting the apple season.
Another fatality struck at the intersection of Dhalli-Kufri and Dhalli-Mashobra roads, where an overloaded tralla plunged down, fatally crushed to death two occupants of a vehicle and injured two others coming from Mashobra side.
These accidents are no strangers in Shimla, with the Kufri Dhalli road stretch experiencing such mishaps every year. In a recent incident at the crowded Bhattakufar market where a tralla careened out of control, smashed a dozen vehicles on the roadside in which a Pahari Singer Vickey Chauhan and his family were fatally injured.
Trallas are overloaded by the traders. They lose their gravity at the sharp curves and steep ascents every now and then and even leading to failure of the braking system.
What is worse, the usage of plastic for tarring by the highway and PWD is adding to the problem mainly when the roads are wet by the rains.
Many accidents took place on the roads stretches where the road surface is tarred with the usage of plastic. “The break system fails on the plastic road surface when the vehicles have flat tyre and these are at a higher speed as the “plastic road” has very less friction to keep the vehicle in balance”, rued the commuters.
What to talk about the training and sensitisation of the truck drivers on road safety, the HP authorities, RRT, RTOs have to come together to ensure safety of people on the roads by checking the plying of "killer-trallas and big buses on the hilly roads of Himachal Pradesh.
“If the NHAI and HPPWD investigate the matter and transport authorities and RRT police don’t act, the trallas and roads would continue to take their toll on innocent lives”, warned the commuters.
It is the duty and responsibility of NHAI, HPPWD, traffic police to ensure safe passage and check playing of big trallas in the apple season.
Immediate and stringent measures must be put in place to regulate the weight of vehicles on these roads, reinforcing stringent safety standards.
Shimla's residents demand action, accountability, and justice for those who have lost their lives.