Driving at night has turned out to be a nightmare for city dwellers due to over-speeding dumpers that carry sand, rocks and stone chips to the various construction sites of the city from the quarries located in the city outskirts.
Commuters complained that the dumper menace is at its peak along the Maniram Dewan Road, Mother Teresa Road, VIP Road and National Highway; all these roads lead to the Panikhaiti area.
“We have to drive very cautiously at night due to these dumpers. They drive very recklessly and at very high speeds. These vehicles are not meant for high speeds and hence, sometimes, applying the brakes to these overburdened vehicles takes time and hence, one has to keep safe distance or simply yield the way for these vehicles,” Parthojit Saikia, who often commutes at night said.
These dumpers and other heavy vehicles are not allowed to commute during the day to avoid traffic congestion in the city.
Police said that at least 15-20 cases each have been filed in the Noonmati, Garchuk and Basistha police stations.
“Every now and then, we get a call from late night commuters regarding the rash driving of the dumpers. We (traffic police) check these vehicles at the traffic points and where our interceptors are usually parked. But they behave themselves on seeing our vehicles. It is not possible to cover the entire city at night,” CN Bora, officer-in-charge of Noonmati Police Station said.
The forest division of Kamrup East includes Panikhaiti, Noonmati Sector 1 and Hatisila which have the highest concentration of sand extraction zones throughout the district. There are three forest divisions - Kamrup East, Kamrup West and Kamrup North.
“Hence, the menace of the dumpers is more on the roads that lead to Kamrup East. Stones and sand are also illegally mined and brought from Meghalaya, but those mostly opt for the highway,” Bora said.
Speaking on the reason why these dumpers drive so fast, the officer-in-charge of Basistha police station said, “These dumpers only have the night to carry their materials from the quarries and dump the same at the construction sites. The faster they drive the more trips they will be able to make. When loaded with sand or rock, these vehicles cannot drive too fast due to the added weight. So, they have to make up for the lost time after dropping off the consignment.”
“Sometimes these vehicles wantonly scare the slow moving late night commuters. They get behind these vehicles maintaining a small gap of about a foot or so. The commuters, on seeing such huge vehicles moving at such speeds so close behind them, often get scared and yield the way for them,” the police officer said.
Last week, in such a speeding bout, a sand-laden dumper bearing registration number AS-01-DD-3666 met with a major accident at Garchuk late at night.
According to sources, the accident occurred after a four-wheeler hit the dumper from behind, leading the dumper to lose control and hit the divider on the highway. The driver Kaatiram Kachari (33) of Palashbari, was severely injured in the accident.
