DailyPost 2802
INDIA ON FIRE, WHOSE CASE IS IT?
The Rajkot and the Delhi fire accidents, if we may call them so, once again rips apart the dirty underbelly of Indian regulatory and enforcement agencies and the degradation of general governance. If this is the case in big cities one would be scared to imagine the state of affairs in the backwaters of India, the fledgling Indian countryside. It has been visible to the naked eye in the second wave of Covid. It takes no time even for the infra to evaporate. What has been our learnings since the Upahaar Cinema fire tragedy in 1997 and any number of serious fire tragedies that have dotted our past.
For sure there have been no lessons learnt, otherwise the two recent tragedies could have been averted. One is forced to accept today, that the state of affairs in which these fire tragedies have taken place is the norm and so is the reaction to such incidents; knee jerk, playing to gallery, lip service, enquiry, ex-gratia, SIT, some VIP visits and then life returns to the same old fold. Both parties, the enforcer and evader have a ball, at the expense of the masses. For them man made death traps are created, only to shed crocodile tears, when something of this nature happens.
The gaming zone fire in Rajkot killed at least 33 people. The huge amusement park built in 2024 has temporary structures and tin roofs. It had insufficient fire extinguishers and emergency exits. The building did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department. Huge amount of fuel was available to be used for generators / go-kart racing, that literally added fuel to the raging fire. FIR, SIT, Ex.Gratia et al. Everybody turns a blind eye for a price has been established over and over again, but remains unattended for valid criminal reasons..
Declaring the whole existence of this nature murky is an understatement. In the Delhi’s Baby Care New Born Hospital of the 12 infants only 5 survived the fire accident. The doctor on duty was not qualified to treat newborns. If the hospital is born out of sin, what else can you expect? Oxygen cylinders exploded. There were no fire extinguishers at all and there was no emergency exit as well. What a trap they had created? The licence had expired on March 31, yet business ran as usual. Again ex-gratia, investigation, lip service et al. An enquiry has been ordered. Every single tragedy the main culprit escapes, the licensing/ regulatory/enforcement agencies/departments working in criminal tandem with the owners, knowing of the impending disaster, allow it to happen, for a price.
RAMPANT CORRUPTION AND REGULATORY SANITY CANNOT RUN HAND IN HAND. THERE IS NO REVERSE ENGINEERING REQUIRED TO DECIPHER THIS FACT.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.