IRS accuses drivers of accidents

In recent days, several road traffic accidents have occurred on the Dushanbe-Chanak highway due to heavy snowfall. Residents blame the IRS company, but the company complains about the drivers.

Photo: Internet

The Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of Tajikistan reported that on November 10, a passenger car of the brand “MUSSO,” traveling from Dushanbe to Panjakent, lost control while driving on the Dushanbe-Chanak highway and fell into a 300-meter ravine. As a result, the driver died at the scene of the accident.

A video of a truck falling into a gorge was also published on social media. The cause of the accident, as seen in the footage, was adverse weather conditions and problems with the highway.

Some drivers who regularly use this highway associate the traffic accidents and congestion on the Dushanbe-Chanak highway with the irresponsibility of the employees of Innovative Road Solutions LTD (IRS), which is responsible for the maintenance of this road. According to them, it is the irresponsibility of this company that leads to the road not being cleared of snow and avalanches in a timely manner, resulting in traffic accidents on the narrow and dangerous sections of the mountain road.

On November 15, representatives of the IRS company rejected these accusations on their Facebook page and, in turn, blamed the drivers. The statement notes that the company “feels responsible, but the indifference and selfishness of some drivers to a certain extent hinders the company’s activities.” The management of the company claims that traffic jams on this highway occur because some drivers enter the oncoming lane and do not follow the instructions of IRS employees and traffic police inspectors.

The fact that the road is toll does not mean that it should be open 24 hours a day; on the contrary, closing the road is one of the company’s solutions to ensure safety on the road, the company asserts.

Every year, with the onset of the winter period, drivers complain about the irresponsibility and poor performance of IRS employees.

Drivers claim that despite the company receiving huge sums from each vehicle, it does not install barriers at dangerous sections of the road for the safety of vehicle movement, especially trucks.

The branch of Innovative Road Solutions LTD in Tajikistan took responsibility for the Dushanbe-Chanak highway in 2010, after which the road became toll. It is believed that the company belongs to relatives of Emomali Rahmon. The company was registered in 2009 in the offshore zone of the British Virgin Islands by a citizen of Tajikistan.