Daleel with SP Singh - On Amritsar Ravana Rail Tragedy - Some Leftover Questions
1,161 views · Published 22 October 2018 · 45:47 · Indexed 27 September 2026
Channel: PTC NEWS · 2018 · News & Politics
PUNJAB's grief is too solemn for any drama, but all that people got were hollow words of consolation, theatrical visits and reciprocal mud slinging over the deaths of nearly 60 people, all mowed down by a train that exposed the chinks in our politics, administration & humanity. While much is being said about why the Ravana's effigy was so close to the rail tracks at Gate Number 27 between Manawala and Amritsar in Dhobi Ghat near Golden Avenue, no one is asking what other options people have when urban planning is so skewed. The questions about applying for permission from the relevant authorities do not take into account the complex web woven by the administration and bureaucracy that thwarts any intent to apply safeguards. Also, in an atmosphere surcharged with religiosity and when our politics is punctuated by routine displays of organised religion, which officer really has the power to deny permission for a religious event? We all know how interfering are our politicians when it comes to implementation of standard guidelines, rules, procedures. What about the Dussehra celebrations at other places across Punjab? How many of them had applied for permission? What are the minimum conditions that organisers have to fulfill in order to become eligible for such permission? IT is all so fuzzy that you eventually find out the inescapable truth -- it is designed to be that way. Will the government make public the statistics about the availability of ambulances, fire brigade services, first responders, rescuers, fire fighting equipment and fire fighters on a day when Punjab witnessed Ravana effigies bursting into flames at hundreds of places? In fact, will the PMO act and make public the due diligence carried out at the Luv Kush Ramlila Committee event at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi that Narendra Modi attended and where he aimed that faux arrow from a faux bow into the faux nabhi of Ravana effigy? Across the state, the best public hospitals routinely shut down their OPD on any festival day. In which part of the world is that considered a norm, or even humane? At how many places in Punjab, Haryana or Chandigarh was a Ravana effigy burnt close to a petrol pump? At how many places did the Deputy Commissioner of any district in Punjab inspected the site of Dussehra celebrations during a surprise check? Can the state government release the report of such a time and date stamped surprise check? Can the authorities in any district of Punjab release the copy of communication sent by the district administration to fire brigade services that included information about all the sites where permission for Ravana-dahan had been granted? At how many sites did the authorities notice a Ravana-dahan event without authorisation? What was the due diligence carried out by Navjot Kaur Sidhu who was the chief guest at the event? What was the due diligence carried out by other chief guests at sundry other events? THE FACT IS that we take human life far too casually, and only a tragedy of this scale and nature shocks us at times. Our capacity to lapse back into our chaotic comfort zones has become immense by now. Watch this episode after a couple of months again and you will feel far less impact. That's a measure of the loss of our humanity. Punjab is losing far too many people in road accidents every day, but it does not become a political issue because our political parties need issues that can actually brush serious issues aside. Meanwhile, trains can maul through the crowds at full speed, and we can nurse our grief for a few days till we lose a part of our humanity further and fall into a routine of tragedy-condolence-compensation-inquiry-forgetting. That train just crushed our souls and bared our apathy. The one question you need to ask after watching the coverage on television and reading about it in the newspapers is this: Are we really human? Will we be tomorrow also? This episode was first telecast on October 22, 2018. Feedback, suggestions welcome at [email protected]. Also, please help spread the word about DALEEL, an effort at cerebral television in times of dumbing down of the news media. Thank you for watching. DALEEL WITH SP SINGH is ordinarily telecast every Sunday at 8 pm on PTC News. The repeat telecast is at 2 pm the next day, Monday. Please check listings as TV channels often change schedules without notice. So, check out the time, and since it may still change, do not bet your money on it. https://www.ptcnews.tv https://www.facebook.com/ptcnewsonline PTC News , Punjabi News,Punjab Latest News,Latest News from Punjab,Punjab News Headlines,Top News from Punjab
