Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Troubled with Anger- Borewells or Deathtraps??

It makes me write this post with terrible anger to see a child dying in an open borewell. A huge machinery put into action once the tragedy stuck. Why can't the local authorities, neighbourhoods and people wake up before these incidents happen. Time and again, we have been hearing news of such miserable things around us. 150 feet borewell to 3 feet sanitation manholes, everything is causing a concern in the country. No roads are safe to walk. Thanks to municipalities and corporations who dig pits and forget to close them, manholes that get the irons lids missing, not sure how many people disappeared into the open drains in the country, garbage dump yards which were earlier water beds suck people unknowingly stepping into the traps, electricity boards leave the open cables for the rains to lavish the lives of people walking. Roadways are not immune from not contributing, broken railways gates are not fixed immediately, telephone companies leave the work half done, construction companies leave the concrete slabs in hap-hazard ways for the people to get hit and fall. Who is failing? Government machinery or the people or its a collective failure? How many of us care to close a open pit in our neighbourhood as we cross it. We don't care for something unless we are directly impacted by the carelessness of whoever concerned. Lets stop this attitude. Local councillors should be held responsible for maintaining the local areas... least they can do is pay little more for the garbage collectors on a weekly basis assigning them the responsibility to close the open pits. Media. I hate to describe the way the live televisions covered sonu's death. What the hell is happening in our country. The very media that takes survey of Tom, dick and harry issues, never bother to bring in statistical facts on loopholes in the local machinery, for they are not going to increase their TRPs... Bring in a portal where every citizen journalist can input the minute they find such bore wells, or open manholes and let this list be forwarded to the local authorities... a simple call centre technique..but for us what matters, right... whose bothered.. This is exactly the attitude of everyone, including politicians, bureaucrats, authorities, media and general public unless and until they find some news to debate, gossip, and gather useless views and suggestions. Guys, please wake up, lets make our neighbourhoods safe for our children to survive...Please!