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Monday Musings: Here’s why we Indians disregard public safety
We barely seem to learn from the innumerable accidents that happen in India due to the careless disregard for safety.
The people of Mumbai are livid and rightly so.
One-and-a-half years after 23 people were killed in the Elphinstone road (Prabhadevi) railway station stampede, six people lost their lives recently when sections of a railway foot overbridge (FOB) gave way suddenly.
Clearly, the most recent accident near the railway’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) reflects serious gaps in the safety audit process which needs to be addressed.
Angry Mumbaikars have been trying to understand why they have to suffer again and again because of poor maintenance and tardy safety audits of public infrastructure? They have been asking whether their city really needs the ambitious bullet train at an astronomical investment or greater attention to public safety.
Fire accidents in pubs, hospitals and commercial establishments typically show a near-complete disregard for safety: either the fire-fighting equipment and systems are not in place, too many illegal modifications have been done; or, the emergency fire exits are locked. We barely seem to learn from the innumerable accidents that happen in India due to the careless disregard for safety.
This disregard for public safety is so very extraordinary that it comes as no surprise whatsoever that the highest number of road accidents and fatalities occur in our country. Our vehicles have been turned into killing machines because our authorities and the public don’t care for safety as much as they should.
What is at the heart of this disastrous situation? Firstly, it all boils down to carelessness that is deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche, very aptly captured by the ‘Chalta Hai’ (anything goes) attitude. Just as we don’t respect punctuality because it’s ‘OK’ (chalta hai!); more or less, anything and everything is ‘OK’ for us. This is one of the fundamental reasons why we disregard safety as a nation and as a citizen.
This failure at the national level is compounded by the widespread political and bureaucratic corruption where the flouting of rules and regulations- sometimes with disastrous consequences – is enabled by the corruption of bureaucrats from the lowest level to the highest. Barring exceptions, bureaucrats and politicians have a powerful, symbiotic and corrupt bond because of which they not only protect each other, but also share the spoils of corruption together at the cost of the common man and the public exchequer.
This is the reason why politicians and bureaucrats as a class have diluted the Right to Information legislation.
It is we, the people, who need to strive to bring change in ourselves and our society, if want to leave a better country for our children. Politicians and bureaucrats won’t do that for us.
Having said that, it would be wiser for us to be responsible for our own safety till the time that things change for the better in our country. Here are my suggestions:
•Do not travel on highways after midnight because there are too many morons out there.
•At all times, give way to road maniacs who honk incessantly and are in a tearing hurry.
•Road rage kills, so always be polite and do not get into an argument with idiots on the road
•Be alert, take a pause and act wisely if you instinctively fear safety for any reason.
abhay.vaidya@htlive.com
