Dear Ms Dikshit,
In the wee hours of Sunday, pillar 67 of the under-construction Delhi Metro over-bridge at Zamroodpur collapsed. Most of us were asleep and had no reason to go anywhere near it. Not so, for the people toiling away on it so that the rest of us Delhiites could enjoy a better future.
6 people died, 15 were injured. Whats new? We are a developing country. This kind of a thing happens all the time. If one adds up numbers from the past, the Delhi metro alone has killed some 10 people and injured around 70.
Is quite predictable what will happen next: A few PILs. An ‘inquiry’ that shall take months to complete. Live broadcasts of idiots in the opposition trying to leverage this as an “issue” on Doordarshan (Thats one channel we want our money back for, even though its free). In media and public memory, this issue will only last for 72 hours. Can’t seem to help it. Life’s too fast!
But what next? Yes, we know Mr. Sreedharan has voluntarily resigned. To be fair to him, he was only trying pull this off in a hurry because of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a crazy deadline which has blighted everyone involved.
We know you’ve promised to take ‘appropriate action’ against those responsible, and announced a compensation of 5 Lacs. While all that is fine, is it really enough?
When a nation is in a hurry, innocent people pay the price. Sure, It was all for a good cause: a better Delhi, a capital that we can be proud of. Only that the aspiring somethings from Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, UP or God knows where else, didn’t have a clue about what they died for.
But that doesn’t mean that 10 years from now, we shouldn’t have a clue about what went into reinventing this glorious city. As a token of respect to those ‘inconsequential’ people trying to help execute the vision for the Delhi of the future, we appeal to the authorities to build a memorial in their names.
Commonwealth games will come and go. And come again. But Anshuman Pratihar, the fine engineer, Budan Singh from Bihar, 18 year old Niranjan, Bhan Singh will not.While crores of rupees are being spent on statues of politicians, is a memorial for these disposable heroes too much to ask for?
While we leave Ms. Dikshit to mull over that, if you consider this worthy, please join the cause.
Extension to Jubilee Line of London Underground (Metro)is being constructed it is all in a tunnel to be ready for 2012 Olympics.
So fa not a single mishap,death or and accident of any kind has append (minor injuries excluded).
Health and Safety at work is so tight it is virtually water proof, not only on the metro project but every where in UK even in ones own house is not excluded.
‘Accidents’ like this do not just happen- they owe their occurance to shoddy work or substandard material- the result of greed to make more money. In fact, those who allowed this to happen may be happy to see Shreedhan go.
This is tragic. Innocent lives getting ruined for no reason. I hope Delhi government does something more for these people rather than a mere compensation or two. It’s sad that these people had to suffer the brunt of Delhi’s development. Things like these will always leave a scar on Delhi’s changing face.
You are an idiot. Rather than asking for making a memorial, ask the authorities to pay the poor families well and offer jobs to the family. Memorial won’t earn and feed the poor families. Feel the pain with which they will have to live rest of the life. Even us, while passing by the memorial will never ever try to read the name of the labours who died today. Don’t be so stupid and illogical. Do cause for the sake of the families.
The statement ‘If one adds up numbers from the past, the Delhi metro alone has killed some 10 people and injured around 70′ presents a very strong bias against the DMRC. Let’s write it in the spirit of true journalism, by presenting the facts – ‘In it’s 11 years of construction the development of the Delhi Metro has caused 10 deaths and 70 injuries’
While I am regretting all the deaths and injuries, there is a simple fact, the DMRC is not rushing to meet an unlikely deadline, but was actually working within its proposed timelines. For once there was an infrastructure project in delhi, that was running on time, before time due to good, intelligent project management.
While it is obvious that faults in the pillar were ignored and safety standards may have not been met, by the contractor in question, the fact is that irresponsible reporting on multiple channels – TV, Print or Online only serve to aggravate the situation. We have channels going “Dilli 5 bar hili” and on the scene of the accident, we have the standard tamashbeen crowd of people who have nothing better to do that add to the chaos.
The comment about E. Sreedharan in this post, deserve an apology, at least he had the moral strength to resign, we have yet to have such a step from the Urban development minister. Or when was the last time a Railways minister resigned post a train crash.
I totally agree with Kamal.What on earth will building a memorial do??Will it in any way help in preventing further mishaps??We as responsible citizens need to ask questions and the people/organisations responsible need to be booked!
And further to avoid such incidents in the future lets ask for a full proof system in place, which oversees the infrastructure work..and doesnot get entangled in bureaucracy…
Thats what we need not some memorials and gardens in the name of the deceased..or else even this so called ‘open letter to the CM’ will not serve any purpose.
Where would you build the monument? Anyways, it was an accident and accident keep happening everywhere. That is why developed countries invest in prevention of hazards at work. Since India is growing, that means more construction, that in turn means more accidents if we are not careful. Who is going totake responsibility to get this in place?