SARGODHA: District Police Officer Muhammad Faisal Kamran said on Sunday that various measures had been taken to minimise the number of dumper-related accidents in Sargodha region.
Talking to reporter here, he said dumpers had been causing serious losses of human lives and properties for long time in the absence of a proper mechanism to avert such accidents. He said that he had paid special attention to the issue after taking over charge as the DPO and ordered stern action against the laws violators.
Faisal Kamran said that 121 people were hit to death by dumpers, mostly altered and modified locally, during the year 2022 in Sargodha division. However, in the ongoing year, the number of deaths was reduced due to solid and practical steps, taken by the administration. He said eight deaths had been reported in five months, which showed improvement in the situation. He said the police were striving to solve the dumper-related traffic issues and reduce the number of casualties across the division.
Traffic education in-charage, Muhammad Sajed Mehmood, told reporter that a survey revealed that dumper-trucks were being altered, modified, and in some cases even manufactured in the city and its suburban areas. Local mechanics are modifying/altering the loader-trucks without adopting prescribed procedures and using proper machinery, in violation of the rules and regulations. He said the loader trucks were being manufactured with simple iron sheets and iron garters in different areas of the city including Pull-111, Azam Market, General Bus Stand, Kabari Bazaar, 46 Adda, Jhal-Chakian and other places.
“We manufacture heavy trucks on demand of customers and task is carried out only by experts,” a mechanic said. “No inspection of locally made dumper-trucks is ever carried out by any department, while the traffic police challan the big vehicles only when they enter the city,” a truck driver said. However, he added, fitness certificate was also available for these trucks. He admitted that a large number of trucks were plying the roads without fitness certificates. The truck owners receive certificates by presenting simple truck for inspection and later on modifications are carried out on them.
A traffic police official said vehicles’ inspection was necessary and strict compliance in load management was being ensured. He said that vehicle inspection department was also making efforts to handle the situation effectively, adding that entry of heavy traffic was restricted in densely populated areas of the city.