Straight bat: Show more grit to stop disasters

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hope the Sunday morning fireworks disaster at Puttingal Devi Temple in Kollam, arguably the State’s worst, may not ring the curtain down on all future pyrotechnics in the State. The reckless fiery display at festival time should not lead to a total extinction of a genre of entertainment.

Politicians may have been overwhelmed by the Assembly polls that they compromised on safety and prodded fireworks contractors into a knockout contest. The judicial commission and the Crime Branch may unlock mysteries and parties soon sit at a table to prevent further tragedies. This manmade disaster may provoke knee-jerk reactions. But there are several routine disasters that merit more than such reactions.

Last year 4,196 people, mostly breadwinners, died in road accidents. More than a hundred deaths in a day have been a shocker. Crudely put, do disasters in small ounces over a longer time no more upset Kerala, which maintains a notorious above-national average for road fatalities ?

The Puttingal tragedy is attributed to a hierarchy of lapses. On a routine level, what prevents the Government from enforcing the Court orders on roadside rallies? Policemen escort law-breakers, leaving commuters to the mayhem on roads during political jathas and religious processions? Why should the cross-dressing festival at Kottankulangara temple at Chavara in Kollam lead to a traffic block or traffic detour?

The Government has entrusted Home Secretary Nalini Netto to draw up stringent guidelines as if there are none. The cycle of disasters and the drafting of stringent guidelines/court orders go on apace at the cost of a basic probe to fix responsibilities after accidents.

Many seem to be insensitive to outrageous happenings. To cite an instance, the 11-KV overhead lines are switched off and lines pulled aside to let the chariot pass in connection with two temple festivals on the stretch from Venjaramoodu to Kottarakkara.  The police dares not touch anything that has a religious angle to it.    

The basic responsibility rests with the political class. In the short term, bureaucrats should show more grit. Among the latest decisions is the one to suspend vedi vazhipadu at Sabarimala. But who restored this practice after it was stopped by Pathanamthitta district collector Tom Jose in 1991-92. 

Mr Jose was under tremendous pressure to allow the burst of crackers at the sannidhanam because that has been the practice. He quoted the Forest Conservation Act and the Explosives Act to ban the vazhipadu. Hindu Aikyavedi leader Kummanam Rajasekharan even thought Mr Jose was being biased and threatened to fire a few shots symbolically within the sannidhanam. Mr Jose dissuaded him, citing CrPC 107 to arrest him. If only bureaucrats did their job.