IN what could be called a heart wrenching incident, at least twelve people including three children were killed in a stampede during a private charity distribution for food ration in Karachi’s SITE area on Friday. According to reports, hundreds of people gathered outside a private garment dying factory in the industrial zone for a Zakat and food ration distribution. The people, mostly women and children, started running to collect the ration as soon as the factory gates opened, resulting in the deadly stampede.
As the record inflation has broken the back of common man who are finding it difficult to make both ends meet, Karachi stampede is one of several such incidents that took place in recent weeks. At the free flour distribution centres also, deaths of poor people have been reported in stampedes. Thousands of bags of flour have also been looted from trucks and distribution points. All this only indicates the desperation amongst the people in the face of soaring costs exacerbated by the country’s falling currency and a removal of subsidies agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock the latest tranche of its financial support packages.
It is a matter of satisfaction that the well-off people are coming forward to help the people in distress during the holy month of Ramadan but they must also ensure their charity does not cost a life. They must put in place a proper mechanism with the support of administration to ensure that the relief reaches the people in a hassle free manner. Federal and provincial governments must also address the rowdy situation arising at the free flour distribution centres. There is no denying that the people are very desperate but it is the responsibility of the Administration to ensure the distribution of free flour in an organized and dignified manner. We are confident that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also take notice of these incidents and issue the necessary directives to the relevant authorities to streamline the whole distribution process. Simultaneously, there is a need to reduce political temperature in the country by rising above political interests and personal egos and the focus must be on addressing the woes of the common man.
