Srinagar, Ramshackle conditions of roads, lack of safety walls and frequent movement of Indian military convoys contribute to daily traffic accidents in occupied Jammu & Kashmir, which saw 4,278 deaths just from 2018 to 2022 despite double lockdown, because of Covid and military siege during the years of 2020 and 2021.

According to Kashmir Media Service a recently released report by the IIOJK’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), an alarming total of 4,287 lives were tragically lost due to road accidents from 2018 to 2022 in J&K.

The report reveals 984 lives were consumed by road accidents in 2018 while the figure was 996 in 2019.

In Covid-19 and military siege-hit years of 2020 and 2021, the numbers came down with 728 and 774 deaths respectively.

A significant portion of the road fatalities in J&K were attributed to accidents on national highways, particularly in hilly Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban areas of Jammu region. The treacherous road conditions between Jammu to Srinagar and Jammu to Doda-Kishtwar have led to numerous accidents.

PDP leader from the region, overloading, no crash barriers, bad roads and inadequate buses remain four prime reasons for frequent road accidents in hilly Doda-Kishtwar.

As per the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, J&K ranks second across India in the tally of 10,000 vehicles with an average of 900 deaths every year. The number of vehicles on roads in Jammu and Kashmir have increased by 100 per cent since 2014.