After the fire

Just a day before Eid, a tragic incident happened in Bahawalpur. An oil tanker caught fire and exploded, resulting in the death of over 150 people. This tragic death, however, was met with intense criticism. Some ‘privileged’ people believed that those people – who are now dead – were at fault. It was their greed which led them to this unfortunate end. How callous these statements sound.

The CM of Punjab announced financial help for affected people. How nice it would be if the underprivileged people don’t have to bear tragedies of this magnitude to get financial help from the government. Poverty, hunger and hardships lead a person to his unfortunate death. They need to know that constructing roads, launching the Metro bus projects can’t make a country and its people prosperous. Prosperity comes from good food and good health.

Sara Saeed Wazir

Abbottabad

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The Bahawalpur fire incident resulted in the death of over 150 people. The prime minister expressed his concerns and directed his administration to provide maximum medical facilities to the injured. But he was ignorant about the dismal condition of health facilities in his own country. It is shameful that this government has spent billions of rupees on motorways, highways, underpasses, etc., but not a single burn hospital has been constructed. While directing his administration to provide maximum facilities, he forgot that how can the administration implement his orders in the absence of an independent burn hospital.

The more unfortunate fact is that no other political leader of any party visited the site of the unfortunate accident. While sitting in their offices and houses, they issued condolence statements expressing their grief. Also, this accident points out the negligence of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Department, which is notorious for issuing fitness certificates without carrying out a vehicle’s physical inspection and ensuring that all vehicles are road safe. This incident calls for the government to shift its priorities to the fundamental problems of the people, rather than superficially decorating the cities.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad