Rajvee

Fourteen persons, including an 8-year old girl and eight women, were killed when a Tamil Nadu State Corporation bus and an omni bus collided head-on at Vaagaikulam near Nanguneri, on the Tirunelveli - Nagercoil National Highway.

Cause - Eyewitnesses said the omni bus, proceeding from Chennai to Koodankulam, overtook a two-wheeler and collided against the TNSTC bus on its way from Nagercoil to Tirunelveli at 8.50 a.m. Nine persons were killed on the spot.

On Feb 6, 2007 Four persons were killed and one was injured in an accident involving a bus and a goods carrier on the Chennai-Kancheepuram Road, near Wallajabad, on Monday morning.

Cause - An iron girder protruding from the goods carrier ripped off the right-side rear portion of the State Transport Corporation bus at the Nathanallur junction.

In one day alone 18 persons have died on the roads in Tamilnadu. There are many such incidents which even goes unreported in the media. We might think its unfortunate for those involved in these accidents but these deaths could all have been prevented and these accidents averted. It was because of the callousness of certain road users. A small mistake by one can be devastating for many innocent families.

Take for instance the first accident, if the omni bus driver instead of over taking had little patience, 14 precious lives could have seen the dawn of today. For many, life will never be the same again. Looking at the world from a disabled perspective can be traumatic for any person. Their productivity comes to a halt affecting the economy of their family as well as our country.

And the second instance is such a drastic violation of law. A protruding iron girder from a transport vehicle rips apart a vehicle killing 4 on the spot. Iron girders protruding out of vehicles are such a common sight in the city. Even if it’s a violation of the law it still continues with the connivance of the concerned department.

When I was on a national highway recently, a cab driver remarked,” Life costs just above a couple of thousands, if we find a good lawyer the amount can still be brought down”. For any road accidents, the driver escapes from the accident site and surrenders at the nearest police station and in some cases they run away. He is booked for the accident, spends few hours in a jail and released later after paying a paltry amount of fine. And he gets to drive his killing machine again. This can only happen in India, with the glaring loopholes in its penal code. Its high time the government swings into action at least by setting right all these anomalies. The punishment should be severe so that they don’t commit these offences again. “ This mentality of paying fine and escaping the clutches of law should change ” opines the families who have lost their loved ones in road accidents.

Recently, the Delhi high court took suo moto cognizance of newspaper reports on the rising number of fatalities on roads. They also suggested wide ranging reforms, including deployment of traffic police at bus stands. But these can be only considered only consoling as there is much that needs to be done. The need of the hour is some stringent policy should be evolved by the authorities.

Every day there are thousands of new vehicles that hit the road. It’s a very health sign indeed signaling the economic boom of our country. But it’s also a grim reminder that these vehicles can also affect the economy of our country if not put to proper use. The road width remains to be the same and very little is done with regard to widening, maintaining or construction of new roads. Of course there are now better highways and toll roads but more needs to be done bearing in mind with the growing population. And this plight is worsened by so many factors and the list seems to be endless..

() Non maintenance of vehicle (brake failures, wheel non alignment, tyre burst )

() Driver Error (drunken, overtaking, speeding, non adherence to road rules, overworking)

() Bullock carts, cattle’s straying into road, children playing on the road( flying kites, cricket ), jaywalking.

We may not be able to bring back those who have laid down the precious lives on the road but at least we can ensure that no one dies on our roads in the days to come.. Is it fair to tax others because of our carelessness is our life worth just Rs 2000/-, think about it.

Try to put this in a box or something. Road Safety Tips for a better ride

Speed
Always bear in mind that the faster you drive, the less control you have over your vehicle. On an highway, Truck drivers often drink to compensate for the weariness of daily, lengthy driving, while many others are in a holiday mood, so be extra cautious on a highway.

Avoid Night drive:

Statistics overwhelmingly identify most of the fatal accidents happen late at night or very early in the morning.

Say a big NO to phones:

No calls while driving or riding, people can always wait

Travel by Government or private buses

Prefer the seats in the middle of the buses.

Wear helmet if you are in a highway (rule or not wear one )

Maintain your vehicle

Don’t overburden – understand the limitations of the vehicle

Watch the roads – No Sight seeing while driving

Always anticipate and drive

Have a first aid kit in your vehicle

Avoid overtake and never ever overtake from your left side

Respect Signals

Well in no way its an advice...a little caution can save us and others...

Withering Flowers

The family of kumar’s ( name changed ) stay adjacent to the Puduchery assembly buildings. They are in the business of tender coconuts and their 12 year old daughter is in the flesh trade apparently forced by her parents. In the mornings she plays happily on the streets with her brothers and cousins at the park adjacent to the assembly and in the evenings others plays with her strangers, tourists etc., Even though she seems to be happy there is something in her face which seeks for a divine intervention. Need for a home is brimming in her eyes where she could be herself. Millions of street children like her are at the mercy of careless parents, hungry pimps , paedophiles and police. They are subject to malnutrition, hunger , health problems, substance abuse, theft and the list is endless. There are thousands of cases like Miss Kumar who needs immediate attention from policy makers and people. But they are all so busy with other things more important than the withering life of poor young Indians.

According to the Census of the United Nations, India has the largest number of street children in the whole world which is around 18 million and they are concentrated in the major cities of our country. This figure is soaring everyday because of population explosion, unemployment, urbanization, lack of political will and changing social and economic patterns...The rift between rich and poor is getting wider and the number of people living below poverty line is increasing at an alarming rate. The World Bank's definition of the poverty line**, for under developed countries, like India, is US$ 1/day/person. As per this definition, more than 75% of all Indians are, probably, below the poverty line! The Government of India says , poverty line for the urban areas is Rs. 296 per month and for rural areas Rs. 276 per month, i.e. people in India who earn less than Rs. 10 per day. At this level of earning, even in a poor country like India, survival on Rs 10 per day is nightmare..and the bitter reality is that these things are happening when we are dreaming of superpower by 2020.

India is part of the UN declaration of the rights of child signed in 1959 and adopted the national policy in 1974. It is signatory to the world declaration on the survival , protection and development of children.

Article 39 of the directive principles of state policy pledges that, "Right of children and the young to be protected against exploitation and to opportunities for healthy development, consonant with freedom and dignity". A commitment both at international and national level and a breach of it is termed human rights violation. This is what India is violating and who is to be blamed or punished for this gross negligence. Though the Government has in place departments and organizations for the welfare of children and women yet they lack the teeth and power to put these laws in place.

There are now hundreds of NGO’s who have taken up the work which the government should rightly be doing to ease the present grave situation of growing street children menace. S Aloycius who runs the kirubai trust for street children houses around 27 children in her rented house at puduchery. She laments that, “ We bring the kids to our home but within few weeks their parents forcibly take their kids away. here we take days to clean them from their body infections, regularize their bowel movements, teach them good habits and all our efforts are wasted once the kids get back to the streets ”..

She is trying to co-ordinate with the government and nodal agencies to make street children free puduchery in the years to come.

Father Stanley Swaminathan who is the director of social work department at Sacred heart college, Tirupathur says, “ Four fundamental needs has to be addressed to rout out the menace of street children, Nutrition, Affection, Recreation and Education ”.

He also adds that it is not enough to give a roof for these kids but it is also vital to give them dignity. Because once they understand the value of dignity they understand the value of life . There are lots of good work silently being done to help the kids on road but lot more needs to be done.

We Indians take the pledge that all Indians are our brothers and sisters. Celebrate independence and republic days and yet when we

see kids everyday on the roads begging, vending and loitering in rags we do not care or dare to approach the concerned authorities to do the needful for them. Its not that we should take them home and share what we have with them but atleast can inform the concerned departments, NGO’s or call childline toll free number of 1098. This way we can make the officials do their work for which they are paid and give chance for the social workers to reach out to the ones in need. Also we can send a strong message to the policy makers and make them understand the gravity of the situation.

Do you want to see a flower wither away for nothing on the streets or see it bloom in a garden…You decide

Hello Today was so good and lovely and i am really happy and excited that i have got one more day to live in this beautiful earth, isn't that great