Jamshedpur : In a road mishap about 30 persons were injured, five of them seriously as a pick-up van they were traveling was overturned at Sankosai on Dimna Road under Olidih police station area in Mango on Thursday morning.
The victims, most of whom were women were daily-wagers and were coming from Bodam in Patamda to the steel city for working in construction site. According to an eyewitness, at the time the vehicle overturned, there were about 40 person, most of them were ladies in the early thirties.
All the injured were rescued and taken to the MGM Medical College and Hospital emergency for treatment. At the medical college hospital emergency, 25 injured who had sustained minor injuries were released after first-aid, but five of the injured were admitted in the hospital as they had sustained serious injuries.
Those admitted in the hospital were identified as Kalpana Singh Sardar (30), Malti Modi (32), Surabhan Modi (34), Ratni Singh Sardar (33) and Ajit Modi (28), all residents of Bodam block in Patamda.
The local police have seized the pick-up van. Officer-in-charge, Olidih police station, Shusma Kumari confirmed that the mishap took place as the driver of the pick-up van was trying to overtake a dumper.
“The driver of the van has fled as the vehicle overturned. We are trying to find out him by tracing his whereabouts from the vehicle registration number, but a case of rash and negligence driving has already been against the driver,” said the officer-in-charge.
He said that the Department is planning to conduct a special drive against overloading in vans and vehicles. Overloading is a crucial issue since it involves the safety of the people.
�Overloading is the most common violation by these vehicles. A majority of these vehicles are private vehicles carrying out a commercial activity. We have expressed concern and conveyed the same in the city but with little response, said a senior traffic police officer under the condition of anonymity.
Rameshwar Prasad, a van operator says, �We are forced to take more passengers because of the rising fuel prices and road tax.
We have even asked the passengers to hike our charges, but they are not willing. In such a scenario, we have no choice but to go for overloading. It�s becoming difficult to run our businesses.�
