MyVoice: Views of our readers 29th May 2024

Simran’s win deserves due recognition

Simran just did her best. But she isn’t trending or in the news. She is a blind runner and won gold for India in 200m finishing in 25.95 secs at Para Athletics World Championship. It was a heart whelming show. She made it possible in extreme climatic conditions. Simran was born with semi-developed ears and was kept for seven months in an incubator.

Doctors had given up hope and were not sure of her survival. But 22 years later, she became the first Indian woman to qualify for the 100-metre track event in Tokyo Paralympics. Remember the name Simran Sharma for Paris. Her husband is her coach who is a soldier in Indian Army. The family had to take loan and sell their land to fund for her training. The least we can do is talk about her. The news about her gold medal is out. She was not expecting that. It is time to give her much needed publicity to do more in athletic field.

M R Jayanthy, Mumbai

Fire tragedies are man-made disasters

Ensuring fire safety is paramount. Still, we, as a country, have a lax attitude to fire safety regulations. As a result, fire accidents like the ones in Rajkot and Delhi continue to occur. The tragic part of fire incidents is that they result in a terrible loss of life. The gaming zone of an amusement park in Rajkot which attracted huge crowds on weekends and holidays had no fire safety mechanisms in place. Sparks from a welding machine are said to have fallen on ‘piles of inflammable material’ stockpiled within the structure and turned the facility a blazing inferno.

Oxygen cylinders, stored at the children’s hospital in Delhi, exploded and spread the fire, caused by an electrical short-circuit, fast and made it raging and huge. Risks arise when facilities operate as commercial entities and become neglectful of safety norms. Those who run establishments like schools, hospitals, hostels, hotels, gyms and entertainment facilities know all the dodges. More often than not, they escape inspections and action for a lack of adherence to safety regulations by greasing the palm of those who are supposed to oversee and enforce safety. They pay bribes to cover up lapses. The latest fire tragedies, described as man-made disasters, should be a wake-up call for the governments and the society.

G.David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

HC bang on with Gujarat govt

‘The High Court of Gujarat has rightly expressed its lack of faith and confidence in the Gujarat Government regarding the Rajkot gaming lapses, where 28 precious lives including 7 children were tragically lost in a fire accident (Hans Dt 28.05.2024). The irony lies in the fact that, despite previous court orders, this game zone has been operating without any Municipal authority’s approval.

This blatant disregard for legal and safety protocols has resulted in a catastrophic loss of life, which could have been prevented. The critical remarks by the High Court questioning the Government of Gujarat underscore the urgent need for accountability and reform. The Gujarat Government must take these strictures seriously and implement rigorous measures to ensure that such negligence and oversight do not recur in the future.

Ganti Venkata Sudhir, Secunderabad

Create awareness on rash driving

It is painful that nearly 51 people were reported to have died in road accidents in Bengaluru in 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday due to reckless driving (May, 28, Bengaluru edition). Out of this over thirty died in bike accidents. Last year about 34 people died of reckless driving every day. It is pathetic.

Reckless driving among the youth has become increasingly common in city suburbs. Parents should create awareness of rash driving for their children. An awareness campaign by the government through the RTO will also be useful to certain extent. Lessons in school texts should include the ills of rash driving.

Sravana Ramachandran, Bengaluru