Last week, a Pune teenager met with a tragic death, when she slipped off the Tung Fort. Yet again, no one’s accountable and her grieving parents are left to wait for answers. I seriously, wonder why human life so cheap in our country?
Last week, I read a news report which stated that a water park in Kansas City in USA
renowned for its 168 feet giant water slide, the world’s largest, will be demolished by the end of this month. The Reason – A 10 year old boy was killed while on this famed ride in August 2016.
As I followed the story, I read a news report of April 2017 which stated that the family of this boy, was to receive 20 million dollars as compensation for the tragedy, with the Water Park management to dole out 14 million dollars and the rest of the money is to be paid by the contractor who installed it, the raft manufacturer (riders are seated on a raft on the water slide) and the consultant of the water slide. Also, a criminal case was lodged against the water park management.
15 year old Ishita Mate was on a trek organised to Tung Fort, about 90kms from Pune when she apparently slipped and met with her tragic death.
The organisers of the trek, Pugmarks Eco Tours have reportedly stated that this was an unfortunate accident and the necessary safety measures were adopted by them at all times.
A resident of Magarpatta city, she had recently passed her Std X Board Examination
from Sardar Dastur Girls’ High School, with flying colours.
What next? Well, there were news reports which told us the story of the tragedy. but very soon, this will be just another statistic and life will go on…
What about the life-long trauma of Ishita’s parents? Who is to be held accountable for such an accident? The website of this organisation has absolutely no mention of the incident or even a line of comfort for the family. Is business more precious than human life I ask?
Reports that appeared in city papers quoted one of its directors stating that four veteran trekkers accompanied the 17 member trek tour and all safety measures were adopted.
However, a city expert trekker pointed out that a safety rope is mandatory for such treks and that basic accessory was allegedly conspicuous by its absence on this trekking expedition. Whatever maybe the truth, this is certainly not the apt season for treks in slippery terrain.
Tung Fort is conical shaped and one has to go through narrow paths, which are increasingly slippery in the rains. If this is indeed the case, then why are treks or any organised in this season?
Ishita’s mother, Vaishali Agarwal Mate has written a heart wrenching post on her Facebook page soon after the tragedy seeking answers from the organisers on safety measures etc.
One of the 17 youngsters who had accompanied Ishita on the trek and is a witness to
the tragedy posted on social media and appealed for banning such treks
during the monsoons due to “heavy rains and wind” because of which such treks
become dangerous…
The Law of Torts is very strong in other countries and heavy monetary compensations are paid for callousness like the case mentioned about the water park in the USA.
In India, most often, the family members of any victim are in such deep grief that they are unable to pursue the case on their own. For them, their precious one has departed and they find it futile to indulge in any legal intervention for two reasons – no amount of monetary compensation is going to bring back their loved one and two, any court case takes years.
Unlike the USA and UK, where lawsuits on such cases is quickly decided. Furthermore,
in most countries abroad, the family does not need to pay money to the lawyer representing them as they take a certain commission on the settlement as their fee.
In 2013, when five young professionals crashed into the Neera river when their car fell
into the gaping hole between two bridges on Pune-Bangalore Highway, I had written
extensively on this and invoked RTI and procured documents which revealed that
repairs were sanctioned for the same, but they were not undertaken.
I wrote a series of articles and campaigned on ground for the same. However, none of the family members even felt the need to connect with me. I don’t blame them for they have lost their precious one and nothing matters more..
Yet, I feel, we in India are conditioned over centuries to think of such tragedies as a result of one’s own Karma.
However, I feel that death that may be caused by negligence of authorities/organisers, be it pot-holes, electrocution at public placed and on roads; treks, river rafting or any adventure sports, is essentially because of the non-governance and callousness. It is NOT Karma. They are the Earthly Yamas who snatch away our dear ones, and criminal cases ought to be filed against whoever is responsible, be it a civic authority or anyone else.
Another way to stop such tragedies is to ban trekking on the Sahyadri ranges during
monsoons and the Maharashtra government should issue stringent guidelines for organisations involved.
For instance, The Uttarakhand High Court has recently banned paragliding, white water rafting and other water sports. It has directed the state government to draw up a comprehensive policy for safeguarding the safety of the people and environment. .
Also, what hit me hardest when my journalist colleague drowned in 2016, while river
rafting in Kundalika River, was a comment on Facebook by an educated lady who
blamed my colleague for having gone there despite the rains.
For heaven’s sake, can we stop blaming innocent victims and people of this country? What are our law makers and authorities for? Do they exist only to fritter away our tax money?
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#All views expressed in this column are those of the author and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
That's Vinita Deshmukh, Senior journalist and RTI activist who believes in journalism that reflects the views and needs of the common man.
Get Real And Stay Relevant says Vinita,
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