Are we waiting for another similar event?
On August 29, Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, a renowned
gastroenterologist of the country, met an untimely and a very tragic end, when
he fell into an open manhole during the heavy rains in Mumbai. His body was
found two days later. This was an entirely preventable death, so why did
this mishap happen?
This is but one of several examples of non performance of
civic bodies.
Abandoned, but open bore wells, several feet deep, have
claimed the lives of many innocent children. Low hanging live cables or open
cables put lives at risk.
India has the highest number of road traffic accidents in
the world. Driver error undeniably is a major cause of road traffic accidents.
But, accidents are also caused by poor road quality and poor maintenance.
Potholes, uneven road surfaces, lack of traffic signals, poor street lighting,
collected water on the road, traffic cones are all hazards that cause road
accidents and injuries. Speed breakers on our roads are most often poorly
designed. There are no warning signs, no markings on them.
Falling trees, in particular, old trees also take lives.
In July this year, the death of a woman was reported from Mumbai after a tree
fell on her.
Litter or debris on the roads is also a hazard to drivers,
cyclists or even pedestrians. Improper waste management not only has health
implications, it is also a safety hazard as was evident in the landfill collapse
in Delhi, which also claimed lives. This was and is a disaster waiting to
happen.
Maintenance of roads and infrastructure of the city and
also keeping it clean is the responsibility of civic bodies.
Why can’t such incidents be controlled or prevented?
Are these civic bodies poor? No. They have adequate funds
by way of taxes - property tax, road tax, licensing charges, road parking
charges. Every house or parking is contributing to the funds.
Despite this, such unfortunate incidents recur and many
people lose their lives each year. Is this not non performance of civic bodies?
The civic bodies have failed time and again to resolve these civic issues year
after year.
If such an incident, had occurred in a hospital e.g.
patient falling from the bed, electrical injury, this would have created uproar
and the situation would have been ripe for another episode of violence against
doctors, with even damage to hospital property. Criminal cases are being filed
against doctors. This criminal prosecution of doctors is unwarranted.
Yet, where is the accountability for state and civic
authorities for failure to maintain facilities or penal provisions, for
that matter, in these instances of civic negligence? Should not an advisory or
alert, cautioning citizens to stay home/indoors been issued in time? Who will
take the blame for the death of an eminent doctor of the country?
Are we waiting for another such event to occur?
IMA Mumbai is filing public interest litigation (PIL) in
the death of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar.
It’s high time that the state and civic authorities shake
off their apathy and proactively act to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this write up are
entirely my own.
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