If democracy’s governance format means total collusionary governance by all stakeholders at the expense of the masses; the sovereign in a democracy, then we have achieved that feat. A fire tragedy at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, North Goa, killing 25 people around midnight on December 6-7, 2025, during a crowded event once again exposed the totally dark belly of Indian governance. The issue is not what went wrong, the issue is that nothing was ever supposed to go right.
That the things are working somehow fine, or we presume so, is the ultimate manifestation of providence. The present case is a perfect example of how things are made to go wrong, for a purpose. This can be termed as Total Stakeholder Collusion, with literally none missing. It does not end with collusion, even normal sensible precautions, which a building of that nature needed to have, was missing. Mercenary commercialisation at its worst. Fire tragedies of this nature happen over and over again, clearly proves a *clear cut pattern in this collusion.
The building did not have a construction permit. When the partners got in a wrangle, this fact was exposed. Yet demolition order was securely placed on a legal merry go round. The owner is an upscale hospitality magnate, operating across the country. This would be a part of his standard tool kit. Panic and smoke inhalation were primary killers, not just flames. The building has a single exit and to add to it, it has flammable palm-leaf decor et al with missing sprinklers and alarms, means a veritable death trap was being operated on a daily basis.
Goa is ill-famed to have a tourist board too. What does it do? When a construction permit is missing and demolition orders are on, the less said about the fire NOC the better. No NOC and when the tragedy unfolded the fire tenders could reach only till 400 meters of the fire. What a mockery and slap on the system by a hospitality magnate, for reasons best known to the stakeholders. What police have been doing when all were colluding is a natural question. The organic reply is, they were also a part of the same death trap industry. The CM and PM have reacted in the manner they do; feeling the pain of the victims, promising action and ex-gratia. If action is taken against all the sarkari colluders, then rest will automatically fall in place.
WE HAVE DELIBERATELY DECIDED TO GROPE IN THE SELF CREATED DARKNESS FOR ULTERIOR MOTIVES.