Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Meerut fire

It is unfortunate that 50 people lost their lives and many suffered severe burns in Monday's consumer goods fair at Meerut. The main cause of the high casualty is no doubt the granting of permission without ensuring that adequate safety measures were in place.

S. Raghavan,
Tiruchi, T.N.

The existence of only one exit point at the venue made things worse. The authorities should not have allowed the fair without ensuring that there were enough exits in case of a fire or stampede. The Meerut incident should serve as a lesson to those conducting huge fairs and to the authorities who throw caution to the winds.

V. Pandy,
Tuticorin, T.N.

The accident exemplifies the private sector's scant respect for safety measures and its increasing attitude of chalta hai. Right from the operation of buses to airlines, instances of neglect are numerous.

As for the media coverage of such tragedies, the less said the better. If VIPs visit the site, it is politics: if they don't, they do not care. If the Government denies permission for an event, it is intrusion. If it gives the go-ahead and a tragedy occurs, it is squarely to blame!

P.R. Vijayaraghavan,
Mumbai

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Beginning of the end?
Wanted: a sanitation movement
Lessons from the new intolerance
An Iran-U.S. dialogue and Arab anxieties
Corrections and clarifications
Jailing Iraq veteran puts focus on combat stress
Meerut fire
Reservation issue
End of strike
Mayawati: "No promises, no manifesto, only performance"

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu