manoj

The wars in 1962, 1965 and 1971 killed around 3,500 Indian soldiers each. The 1999 Kargil conflict killed 527. Guess how many soldiers are killed when the country is not at war? Around 1,000 each year, which is the same average number of soldiers the US has lost in the Iraq war in the last three years — a number high enough to make President Bush lose the political war at home.

Obviously, life is cheaper in India. But guess what kills Indian soldiers the most?

The answer is a revelation — ROAD ACCIDENTS

Around 300 soldiers die in road accidents every year...

• 313 soldiers die in road accidents in 2003
• 315 soldiers die in road accidents in 2004
• 295 soldiers die in road accidents in 2005
• In the first 10 months of 2006, road accidents have taken a toll of 250 soldiers.

The treacherous terrain that army needs to traverse as well as the sheer volume of traffic are the main reasons for the high casualty figures.

The next big peace-time killer is counter-insurgency operations. Around 200 soldiers die each year fighting insurgents and terrorists in Kashmir, the North-East and elsewhere. The figure, just a few years ago, was anywhere in the region of 400-500.

Stress, which includes suicides and fragging (a term coined during the Vietnam War to categorise deaths caused by stressed-out soldiers killing unpopular members of their unit), accounts for the lives of around 100 soldiers each year. It’s not a small number, but it’s not as large as it is imagined (some have even reported that stress is the biggest peace-time killer).

Till October this year,

• 250 soldiers died in road accidents
• around 80 soldiers died in counter-insurgency operations
• while stress killed another 100

Said a senior officer: “Actually, the number of soldiers killed in operations is quite less compared to the number of non-operational deaths, which includes, suicides, murders, snake-bites and, of course, road accidents.”

So, are army vehicles poorly maintained and drivers poorly trained?

“Yes, there are also mechanical failures and cases of negligent driving,” said the officer. “However, if the number of deaths is compared to the sheer quantum of vehicle movement in the army, the number of accident deaths don’t appear so alarming.”

Article Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (10Nov06)

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kavita

Really its a serious issue and government shouldn't take this matter (Death of our brave soldiers in road accidents) lightly.