Kochi: Kerala has a long history of disasters for poor planning, which continues unabated like the one at CUSAT that claimed four lives even as the government gets away with lame excuses, media reports said.
The Sabarimala stampedes in 1999, 2011, Puttingal temple tragedy in 2016, Kerala floods in 2018, boat disasters in Kumarakom in 2002, Thattekkad in 2007, Thekkady in 2009, Tanur boat tragedy this year and the recent blast at a religious convention in Kochi are a few examples of government’s failure in ensuring the safety of people.
Kerala Minister for Higher Education R Bindu has blamed the organisers for not informing the police about the event happening in the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT).
Police intelligence is supposed to gather information about events happening in a global port like Kochi. Most of the newspapers have displayed the event of CUSAT in their engagement columns and the cops have committed serious lapses in not seeing it.
If police are so effective, then why are they not able to implement the Kerala High Court order banning the buses from honking air horns inside Kochi City. The bus drivers conveniently ignore the High Court order with immunity while the cops turn a blind eye to the criminal activities of the private bus mafia.
Many times the X-Ray screening machines in Kochi Metro are found faulty. Passengers pass through without physical screening of the passengers using metal detectors by the police.
Ironically, Metros in other places like Bengaluru have multilevel screening like mandatory X Ray and physical screening.
The security lapses are mainly noticed on boats where the people are allowed to enter the boats without wearing safety jackets.
A state with a number of rivers and backwaters, people heavily depend on boats to travel to different places without wearing safety jackets endangering their lives.
Instead of putting the blame on others and shirking their responsibilities, the government should take steps to ensure that the police are doing their duties without fail.
Blame game in CUSAT mishap
