Danger at every step, but who cares?

Authorities do not care about people
Mumbai is India’s financial capital, its culture is drawn from the hard work of all those who live here. But our authorities are not bothered about common man’s life. The reason is that authorities are not open to change. Our main failure is our refusal to give quality construction, maintenance to our public services like health, education, sanitation, drainage etc. Mumbai’s drainage and sanitation, run by the BMC, was laid by the British; what have we done to replace or refurbish the pipes that are over 175 years’ old? Drains are left open and unattended, and so are live wires. The leakage of chlorine gas in the Mumbai Port Trust dock is another example of irresponsibility on the part of the authorities.  That’s because of our failure to book those accountable for such negligence. Will any official or politician be punished for such things? Why don’t we lay emphasis on refurbishing public transport rather than sanctioning three to six shopping malls per municipal ward? Mumbai is being bled by the politician-builder nexus and our public service is allowed to rot and even kill our own people. In BMC schools, children have to sit in classrooms that are flooded with water and where there is no electricity. Does this befit the nation’s financial capital?
—Teesta Setalvad, secretary, Citizens for Justice and Peace

Govt should ensure strict safety norms
Incidents like gas leakage or chemical burst are happening because there is neither any regulation for storage of hazardous chemical nor is there a proper storage norms. Such chemical cylinders or drums are kept just like cargo. Also, there is no system where industries maintain a process of segregation of hazardous materials. Workers who work in such factories are not well trained. This is because the industry mostly deploys contract workers who leave the company after a while. So training them is a big issue. But it is not tough for the government to take some steps like bringing new regulation, and issue safety norms for the industry. It’s high time the government learn from such mishaps. Firstly, what the government should do is ensure a storage place for hazardous materials. Secondly, they should have measures like safety equipment, fire extinguishing system, gas or chemical neutraliser, and water sprinkle system around the storage place. Plus, the industry should deploy trained personnel who can take right steps during any disaster to save the life of commoners. 
—Pramoud Rao, national president, Fire & Safety Association of India

We, the people, are to blame; we are either too busy or scared
With India’s population of over 1.18 billion it seems like people have lost value for human life. We don’t mind earning a few easy bucks by taking short cuts. When no one takes strict action against any wrongdoing, it is bound to result in more such incidents. People seem to have taken the law for granted and breaking small ‘insignificant-looking’ laws has become a regular feature. We can blame the government and the bureaucrats, but we are the ones most at fault for standing and just looking, either too busy or too scared to get involved in the muddle.
—Pooja Naik, student

Industry does not care, and the government shirks responsibility
There is dearth of applied precautionary step, and the government is not strict about imposing it. Periodic vigilance is necessary in factories to ascertain how chemicals are stored. Moreover, there is no disaster management system in the city by which we can expect quick response. Even the hospitals are not ready to handle so many injured people with proper care. We have seen many times that there is always lack of number of doctors, beds or enough medicine or blood in the hospitals. Doesn’t this tell how sensitive is our government for the common people?       
—Ravikiran Kolluru, IT professional

We don’t really care unless it happens to us
We as a society are to be blamed for our careless attitude. Till something happens to us or our relatives we will only shed a few crocodile tears, give our expert comments and move on. The reasons for this vary from the sheer size of the population to the inborn apathy we have. We are not persistent with our demands or objections. There are countless incidents of bad road work, huge potholes and manholes which pose danger to our life. We just crib about it when the local government elections are around, then we simply forget it.
—Kruti Bakshi, associate software engg

Quick response is lacking during an emergency
It is quite tragic to know that so many people were injured due to the carelessness of the authorities. We have still not learnt from our past mistakes. Dangerous chemicals and gases are not kept in isolation. Also, there is no concrete preparation for disaster control management in the city. There is no awareness among people on how to tackle such situations. We cannot remain dependent on government alone, the public too needs to take some responsibility to avert disasters. Awareness can avoid many disasters from happening.
—Poonam Vispute, senior executive sales

Strong message needs to be sent across pronto
I think lack of sensitivity and utter reckless attitude lead to such mishaps. There is an incessant race to escalate profits by using substandard materials and inadequate work force. All these often result in mishaps. The best solution would be that the organisation in question should be brought to book without delay. Often, such solo instances are hyped for a couple of days and soon forgotten. After that, things go back to normal. A tough response will send a strong message and people would learn to become more responsible in future.
—Krishna Parikh, creative content writer

My friend lost her brother in a pool mishap
Of late, there have been several instances of irresponsible behaviour by the civic authorities, leading to road mishaps and fatal accidents in swimming pools. And now, the chlorine gas leak. After any mishap or tragedy  people are assured of compensation. Things remain the same by and large. Does anyone ever get booked? I know a friend who lost her brother in an accident in a swimming pool in a posh club. The precise reason for the death still remains a mystery. It’s time we are given concrete answers rather than false promises.   
—Mitesh Bora, web designer