Night riders on highway

Driving from Tapovan police station in Delhi onto National Highway 58 in Uttarakhand is prohibited after dark because of fog, lack of lighting. Cops manning the checkpoint, however, let vehicles pass for a mere R50

They are out on the highway manning a check post and know very well that once a vehicle passes through their post after 8 in the night, it might well be the driver's last journey. Yet they allow it and even charge the driver for it. And the amount can be as low as Rs 50. Death does come cheap on Indian highways.


Making a mockery of the law: A policeman checks a car and then lets it
cross after taking R50 from the driver. Pics/Subhash Barolia

The National Highway 58 is one of the busiest highways passing through Uttarakhand connecting Delhi to Mana through major tourist destinations like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Hemkund Saheb, Joshimath and Oly.

Come winter, the highway becomes dangerous to drive on as fog envelops it in the morning, evening and night, making visibility drop almost to zero. At times, heavy rainfall damages the road at places. Coupled with steep drops and no lighting, driving at night can be fatal The Uttarakhand police know it and they have dutifully made rules: No vehicles, except trucks carrying fuel, are to pass through this stretch after 8 pm, and they have put up check posts to enforce these rules.

But MiD DAY's investigation revealed that the ground reality is totally different. On January 5, MiD DAY correspondent and photographer went to the check post at the Tapovan police station, near Laxman Jhula (the first such post on the highway) close to the time when the entry of the vehicles through the highway was to be stopped.

A barricade had been put up there across which was written "Shaam 8 baje se subah 5 baje tak yeh maarg poorn roop se pratibandhit hai" (Travelling beyond this point is not allowed between 8 pm and 5 am). Parking the vehicle by the roadside, the MiD DAY team stood at a shop nearby and watched the events unfold at the check post.

Serpentine queues
Within half an hour, a long queue of vehicles had lined up, waiting to cross the post. Though the number of trucks was more, only a few of them were carrying fuel. Some private vehicles too were in the queue. Then all of a sudden, the vehicles rumbled on across the post. A closer look and the team found drivers silently handing over currency notes to the policeman at the post.

When MiD DAY asked one of the drivers standing in the queue, he said with a smile, "This is a routine affair. We pass through this point daily and know the rules of this game."

After trucks, it was the turn of private light vehicles. The policeman asked the driver of the first vehicle to park it on side. The policeman then approached him and a couple of minutes later, the vehicle crossed the post and the policeman was seen keeping something in his pocket.

To verify it further, the MiD DAY team decided to cross the check post. When their turn came, they were also asked to park the vehicle in a similar manner. Again the same policeman approached them and making a sorry face said, "You cannot go beyond this point after 8 pm." Then instantly he started inquiring about their whereabouts. After giving him their details, when they asked him how come other vehicles were crossing the post, he said, "Emergency! If you also have emergency, you will have to pay the price." When asked how much, he said, "Rs 100."

Later, when the team refused to pay him, he reduced the amount to Rs 50. "There are other chowkis (posts) ahead and you won't have to pay anything to them. Just say that you crossed this check post before eight."
The team, however, refused to pay him and took a 'U' turn. Talking to the locals, the team found that every night over 400 vehicles pass through this route illegally. "Those who are well acquainted with the entire thing just keep a Rs 50 note in their hands and when their turn comes, they simply hand over the money to the policeman and pass through. In the tourist season, the number of vehicles goes up to 2,000 which means bountiful earning for the cops," said a local vendor.

Another local, Shisir (60) who claimed to know the hills thoroughly, said, "Weather, bad roads, no lighting and steep drops make night driving here extremely dangerous and must be avoided at all costs. So many accidents have occurred during night. But turning a blind eye to all this, police here are busy making money."

When MiD DAY contacted state emergency operation centre at Secretariat Campus in Dehradun, a person requesting anonymity, said, "No vehicles, not even trucks, should be allowed to pass through the check post after 8 pm. The only exception is for trucks carrying fuel. This law is applicable throughout the year given the number of accidents that happen during night time in the hills. But the police have their own agenda."

When asked about this, Kewal Khurana, SSP, Tehri, said, "We are strictly following the rules. No vehicles are allowed to cross the point after 8 pm. Because of this, the rate of accidents has also declined. But there are many hotels in Tapovan area located beyond the check post. Most of the tourists have a booking in those hotels and we allow them to go.

However, if someone manages to cross this point by any means, we have other check posts which can stop them. They will not be allowed to move beyond a certainu00a0 point. Only locals who reside in that area are allowed beyond it. But I will look into the matter and if anything is found amiss, strict action will be taken."