Wayanad: Without proper roads, the Mahindra 'jeep' is the 'lone king of vehicles' that traverses with ease in the hilly terrain of the plantations in Wayanad.
Jam-packed 'jeeps' running hither and thither with women plantation workers are not a rare sight in the district. "These 'jeeps' would not only climb the steep hills but even climb a tree," the saying goes in these parts.
That said, the almost obsolete vehicles have permits for only five passengers and a driver, which means only six persons in case of a mishap are eligible for the insurance claim if indeed the owner had remitted the insurance.
Experts in the know at the Motor Vehicle Department said it would be tough for the kin of the accident's dead to claim insurance and other benefits as the vehicle was overloaded with 14 persons, instead of the maximum six.
Former joint transport commissioner Rajeev Puthalath told Onmanorama that such violations are rampant in hilly regions where 'jeeps' are widely in use.
“If the department intensifies action there would be much 'hue and cry' over the strictness”, he said.
“Only when such a serious accident takes place, rules and regulations matter”, he added.
In the plantation sector, there are vehicles that were not properly insured; most of them require only minimal maintenance routines, said a trade union leader who preferred anonymity.
Mananthavady MLA O R Kelu told Onmanorama that though there were complaints of overloaded vehicles, accidents of such a magnitude are rare in the region as the drivers would be extremely careful. “Most of them are trained experts familiar with the terrain: curves, risky roads and such,” he said.
However, proprietor Deepu of the Deepu Tea Trading Company (DTTC) which owns the vehicle in question told Onmanorama that he was not aware of the overload.
“I came to know tragedy from news reports,” he said.
“I am shocked,” he said, adding that all the victims are related to each other, from the same village of Makkimala.
“Most of them are the Sri Lankan Tamil repatriates who had settled in the plantation sector of the region during the last many decades,” he said. Deepu claimed the vehicle was well maintained and had all the records including insurance.
