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IN MY r VIEW

Death in Meghna
***The answer to Meghna tragedy is not more of the same but a concerted programme for rigorous enforcement within a co-ordinated framework. Meaningless and horrific deaths by drowning in capsized steamers may not be totally avoided by this campaign on a wide front but their numbers can definitely be reduced. That will be a significant improvement over the chronic failure to prevent major tragedies of the magnitude as seen in Meghna. Accidents will happen but they need not occur so frequently and with such heavy toll of lives. Even in a poor country, human lives should not be cheap and dispensable. To ensure that sense of resignation and fatalism must not be allowed to prevail.***
REPETITION has an uncanny way of numbing feelings. It also stymies or at least delays reactions. News of deaths in accidents have become so frequent and commonplace that they seem to have lost the capacity to arouse cathartic emotions in full measure. This is particularly so when a tragedy is just a news and not a personal bereavement. But, with several hundred children, men and women dying all on a sudden and in utter helplessness, even jaded minds wake up like an uncoiled spring. Feelings of grief and anguish gradually overwhelm. The thought of so many lives lost almost in an instant has a humbling effect. But, at the end, there is also indignation and anger. Deaths of hundreds in accidents or disasters cannot be rationalised as inevitable or destined. There is always a palpable margin of human error, folly, even carelessness and negligence. Greed, too, plays its part. In the tragedy enacted in Meghna at the dead of night a few days back all these played their parts. Because of this diabolical dimension, outrage and indignation have overtaken grief and shock.
Each of the children, men and women who died in the launch disaster met a horrific and untimely end. Malevolent nature alone was not responsible for the deaths of the innocents. Dereliction of duty, total disregard for safety and greed for profit made the difference between life and death for the hapless passengers. Because of greed for profit many more passengers were on board than was admissible by the capacity of the vessel to carry. Lax or absent of enforcement of the rules about maximum number of passen-
gers abetted the unscrupulous profiteering of the operators and owner of the vessel that went under. But for this venal act perhaps the vessel would have survived the beating of inclement weather. At least the number of deaths would have been fewer. Of course, there may have been some passengers desperate to get on board even when knowing that there was great risk in such recklessness. But that was no excuse for packing every nook and corner of the vessel with
passengers. The fact of the matter is that the eagerness of passengers to travel dangerously is more than matched by willing complicity of the vessel operators. The result is the commonplace scenes of overcrowded launches and steamers plying through rivers all over the country. The vessels also have various kinds of defects and lack safety gears. No wonder capsizing in normal conditions or in inclement weather with heavy toll of human lives has become so routine and ordinary.
Looking at the launches and steamers on rivers shrouded all over in human figures and hearing news of capsize with loss of lives one is inclined to believe that there is no law against overcrowding and no one is responsible for the safety of passengers. But there are rules and regulations. The problem is over their enforcement by authorities concerned and compliance by the operators. The latter goes on breaching the rules regarding maximum passenger intake because of absence of vigilance on the part of
the concerned agency or because of its connivance. Let alone the innumerable small river ghats in the country even the major river ports between which the steamers ply presence of the regulatory agency on duty is a rare event. Not to speak of being strict most of the time the agency does not seem to be mindful about enforcement of rules at all. Negligence and carelessness that result in accidental deaths continue unabated because no one is prosecuted for dereliction of duty or loses
his job for his conduct. Like the staff of the regulatory agency, the owners and operators of vessels that capsize also go scot-free. It is not denied that soon after a major accident there is public outcry followed by institution of inquiry commission. In most cases the public is benighted of the result of the enquiry. Nothing is known about punitive and preventive actions taken. This poses no problem for the agency because mercifully public has a short memory. More significantly, no sooner the shock of a tragedy is over than comes news of fresh accident. This time around if the loss of lives is limited not more than a ripple is created. When the number of deaths is staggering the cycle of anger, indignation and protest is repeated but with the same denouement i.e. inaction and forgetfulness. This goes on at regular intervals at best adding to conventional wisdom, at worst, leading to collective amnesia.
Like life death also must have some meaning and dignity however humble the people are. Death by
drowning cooped in the body of a vessel like animals relieves it of any meaning and dignity. When the sinking vessel is enmeshed in fishing nets preventing escape by the desperately struggling passengers the deaths are nothing short of murder. Whichever way one looks at heartrending tragedies like the latest one in Meghna one reaches the ineluctable conclusion that if not all, many lives could be saved if only the vessel operators and the concerned agency was more cautious, consci-
entious and law abiding. As in most cases of afflictions, in river accident also prevention is better than cure. The rules and regulations for capacity use of vessels setting limit on maximum number of passengers are in existence. These only need to be enforced scrupulously, strictly and on a regular basis. Mandatory requirement of checking engines and inspecting the body of the vessel when followed through diligently and regularly can also prevent many accidents from taking place. The present safety measures providing only life buoy for passengers is inadequate. Many lives can be saved if passengers are issued with lifejackets. This item has become quite cheap and is convenient to use even by illiterate persons. It should be mandatory for vessel owners to distribute lifejackets to passengers before they board. The provision of lifejackets together with life buoys can constitute an effective package of life saving measures. With continuous publicity and awareness creation passengers themselves
may gradually develop the habit of carrying their own lifejackets. There are other hazards lurking under water. The Meghna tragedy has revealed not only the absence of satisfactory safety measures for passengers but also the presence of death traps in the form of gill nets. This too is the result of negligence and connivance by local authorities, as has been alleged in papers. Gill nets, though prohibited, are being manufactured and used with the full knowledge of agencies. All these
point to the fact that a tragedy of the magnitude of the one that took place in Meghna is the result of a composite of factors. More than one agency and party is involved in this conspiracy of omission and commission.
The government has a major responsibility in preventing accidents in river as on roads. This responsibility takes many forms ranging from formulation of rules, regulations and their enforcement. As has been pointed out, rules and regulations are already there, though they may require some improvement. The crux of the problem lies in enforcement. For failure to discharge their duties properly the staff of the agency concerned should be drastically dealt with. Similarly, owners of vessels should be criminally prosecuted for abetting the mischief committed by their staff in the vessels that capsize due to overcrowding or other acts of negligence. Exemplary punishment for breach of rules and regulations may go a long way in preventing such violations.
As in other areas for preventive actions efforts by the government
alone will not be enough in respect of river accidents. The size and area of the problem is too big and dispersed for concentrated efforts by a single authority to succeed even if that is as powerful as that of the government. The civil society and the local government must come forward to collaborate with government in awareness creation among passengers, owners and operators of vessels. Like consumer interest protecting bodies, passenger welfare promoting voluntary organisations can complement the efforts of government for prevention of accidents due to human negligence or natural disasters. This need not be an endless campaign. Depending on the success of awareness creation among passengers, compliance with rules by the owner/operators and enforcement of regulations by the concerned agency the task of voluntary organisations and the local government body may become less exacting as time goes by. At that ideal stage the emphasis may shift to monitoring the activities of the stakeholders. The essence of the approach should be interactive synergy among the government, the private sector, civil society and the members of the public who use mechanised river transports. Experiences have shown that having rules and regulations are not enough and enforcement by government agency can only be sustained when complemented by efforts from the stakeholders. The answer to Meghna tragedy is not more of the same but a concerted programme for rigorous enforcement within a co-ordinated framework. Meaningless and horrific deaths by drowning in capsized steamers may not be totally avoided by this campaign on a wide front but their numbers can definitely be reduced. That will be a significant improvement over the chronic failure to prevent major tragedies of the magnitude as seen in Meghna. Accidents will happen but they need not occur so frequently and with such heavy toll of lives. Even in a poor country, human lives should not be cheap and dispensable. To ensure that sense of resignation and fatalism must not be allowed to prevail.
Hasnat Abdul Hye is a former secretary, novelist and economist.