Avoidable tragedy

Dear Sir,

The death of the five-year-old boy, who  battled for his life for a week after falling into an open manhole near the fish market in Doha (Gulf Times,  September 16, 18),  is  indeed shocking news. I pray to the Almighty for granting the parents sufficient courage to bear the loss of their little one.

As per the report, this is the third victim of such an incident, sadly making this a clear case of avoidable human error.

This might sound like a hindsight bias, but it is important to ask ourselves a few questions. How did a 5.5m deep manhole remain unattended in a poorly-lit busy street? Even if the manhole cover was removed by a contractor temporarily, the people in-charge should have ensured its replacement especially since it was in an area where there was no  proper street lighting. The ensuing tragedy could have well been avoided.

Qatar is undergoing a construction boom and there are deep excavations all over the city. So stringent steps must be taken to meet all safety measures related to these works.

It is unimaginable to visualise the mental agony of the parents to witness their child falling in a pit filled with dirty water and struggling for life.

The following are my humble requests to authorities concerned:

lNeed to conduct a thorough investigation and to find out how this 5.5m deep open chamber was left unattended in  a busy area.

lTo implement all control measures to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents.

lContractors are responsible to reinstate all disturbed facilities soon after completing their tasks.

lWork areas must be cordoned off and cautionary blinking lights need to be placed around them.

lStrict penalty must be imposed for non-compliances.

Finally, let me salute the two youngsters, Lijesh and Ansari, who volunteered by putting their lives in danger to rescue the boy though they could not save the boy’s life.

 

O Balakrishnan, (e-mail address supplied)

 

Contradictory and inconsistent

Dear Sir,

K K Nazimudeen, in his letter “A message to Criminals” (Gulf Times, September 18), says “as anticipated”,  rights groups have criticised the fast-track court verdict in the Delhi gang-rape case. Whose “anticipation” he refers to is not clear.

He also fails to see that the same rights groups had condemned the brutal assault on a helpless girl by a most vicious pack of criminals.

Nazimudeen cites that “the need of the hour is a massive public education campaign. For some rights activists, the young age of the accused persons has been a concern for disagreement! I am not of the opinion that any of the above reactions is irrelevant and they have their own merits and demerits.”

For such criminals who never respect what is right or wrong, education will hardly make an impact and for those who value what is right and discard what is wrong, additional education is unnecessary.

Nazimudeen does not state what exactly he considers as merits and what again as demerits of the opinions voiced by the right activities.

He further states that “no man-made law can be perfect and powerful enough to eradicate crime from society as it would have its own weaknesses and limitations”. Does Nazimudeen feel there could be a divine law to discipline people, or does he mean that no man-made law is necessary at all since it cannot eradicate crime? If the world is perfect and crime free, no law whatsoever is necessary. His statements and views are not realistic.

When Nazimudeen expresses his disagreement directly or indirectly on the death sentences awarded to the culprits, he feels sorry that the one juvenile culprit escaped with minimum punishment and in his expressions the juvenile also should have been sentenced equally. Is he supporting the right activities for disagreeing with the death sentences or is he against them for not insisting on capital punishment for the juvenile delinquent? His views are contradictory and inconsistent.

Nazimudeen feels sorry for the four young members of the community and he does not show any remorse or sympathy for the helpless girl who was also young member of the community and whose life was terminated by these heartless and brutal villains.

The crime was heinous and the culprits deserved the verdict whatever their ages. The severe sentence is absolutely necessary to deter other evil people against committing such crimes. Eradication of crime is not possible but crimes can be prevented and reduced by punishing culprits severely, warning other like-minded criminals not to resort to such acts.

V Sivaraman, PO Box 183, Doha

 

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