Murree tragedy is a sign of criminal negligence
THE idea of making the country a competitor of Switzerland in tourism is very much presented by the government, but in the Islamabad capital where big claims are made to promote tourism, thousands of people stay overnight at a short distance from this capital.
At the mercy of the severe snowy weather, not only were they lying under the open sky, but twenty-four of them died of asphyxiation.
The apparent causes of this tragedy seem to be seasonal, but in reality, criminal negligence and ignorance of duty with administrative negligence is the matter behind. Even the bitter memories of this tragic tragedy will not be erased from the minds for long.
There is no doubt that this time Murree and Galyat areas have received extraordinary snowfall, but all this was not unexpected.
The Meteorological Department had already predicted the severity of the weather, still the Administration showed negligence and avoided safety measures, which has resulted in a tragedy.
This calamity of Murree has once again opened a loophole of the government’s administrative incompetence as the government, which has invited tourists from all over the world, has not been able to provide timely assistance to those trapped in vehicles under the open sky.
All this has happened not in remote areas instead a few kilometres away from the federal capital in Murree.
However, the local, district, provincial and federal governments together have not been able to help the people trapped in the snowfall in time nor save the life of 24 people.
The first fault lies with the people who unwittingly set their sights on tourism, the second fault lies with the government, which allowed such a large number of people to enter Murree, even though there were neither managed nor planned.
If the government had already stopped more vehicles than necessary in Pindi, this tragedy could have been avoided.
However, some government Ministers, as usual, are admitting the mistake after the passage of time, there is no point in hitting the line after the snake has passed, but we have a tradition that first the burden of the mistake is placed on others, then we move on believing.
Our governments are determined to make mistakes instead of learning from them, and our institutions are on the same path.
The fact is that even our institutions have not learned anything from their shortcomings. Twenty-four people have been killed then our provincial government’s helicopter and rescue agencies have been mobilized, even after the situation was brought under control in a few hours with the help of the Army instead of the civil administration.
The question is, what is the cure for the administration, why aren’t they effective in time? Did they not see that thousands of people were stranded on the roads and heavy snowfall was predicted?
It is commendable that Prime Minister Imran Khan has set up a Committee of Inquiry into the tragic Murree tragedy. However, the report of this Committee should not be the same as the previous investigative reports.
It should come to light immediately, but the perpetrators of negligence should also be severely punished, so that it may serve as a warning to others. In the wake of this tragedy, it has become imperative to improve arrangements at tourist destinations across the country.
If the government really wants to promote tourism, then at least tourist cities should be made model cities so that in case of emergency, tourists should not face any difficulty.
—The writer is a regular columnist, based in Lahore.
