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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Safety First

The death of two people and injuries to five others after a 22-foot Ganesh idol collapsed during its arrival ceremony in Mumbai is a deeply disturbing accident. It is particularly unfortunate that such an incident should occur barely three weeks before Ganeshotsav begins on September 14. A festival that is synonymous with devotion, community and celebration must not begin under such a gloomy shadow. The incident took place in Bhuleshwar, as the idol of Bhuleshwaracha Raja was being...

Safety First

The death of two people and injuries to five others after a 22-foot Ganesh idol collapsed during its arrival ceremony in Mumbai is a deeply disturbing accident. It is particularly unfortunate that such an incident should occur barely three weeks before Ganeshotsav begins on September 14. A festival that is synonymous with devotion, community and celebration must not begin under such a gloomy shadow. The incident took place in Bhuleshwar, as the idol of Bhuleshwaracha Raja was being transported from Byculla to its pandal. Preliminary information points to the unravelling of loose nuts and bolts in the idol’s supporting frame. Whatever the final findings of the investigation, the fact remains that a structure weighing many tonnes and being moved through a crowded urban neighbourhood cannot be allowed to become a lethal hazard. The prompt mobilisation of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, traffic police, 108 ambulance service and civic ward staff deserves recognition. But emergency response, however efficient, is no substitute for prevention. By the time emergency services arrive, lives may already have been lost. That is the lesson Mumbai and Maharashtra must absorb before the festival begins. Ganeshotsav is among the biggest public celebrations in the state. Its arrival processions draw enormous crowds, with towering idols, decorated vehicles, music, electrical installations and devotees converging on narrow streets. The scale of the celebrations has grown dramatically, but safety practices must grow with it. Every Ganesh pandal preparing for this year’s festival should treat structural safety as seriously as religious and logistical arrangements. Frames, fasteners, lifting equipment, transport vehicles and securing mechanisms must be inspected by competent personnel before an idol is moved. Organisers should not assume that a structure is safe simply because it has been used before. A single loose bolt can have catastrophic consequences. The authorities, too, cannot leave safety entirely to organisers. Civic agencies should conduct systematic inspections of large idols and their transportation arrangements, particularly where processions pass through densely populated areas. Traffic management, crowd control, overhead electrical infrastructure and emergency access routes need to be planned in advance. Safety checks should be mandatory, documented and meaningful, not just a box-ticking exercise. There is still time to act. The accident should be treated not merely as an isolated mishap but as a warning. Maharashtra has barely three weeks to ensure that every major pandal and procession has robust safety protocols in place. Ganeshotsav should begin with faith, excitement and the unmistakable sense of a city coming together and not with the memory of preventable deaths. The best tribute to those who lost their lives in Bhuleshwar would be to ensure that no family has to suffer such grief during the celebrations ahead.

Architect of ‘Latur Pattern’

Dr Janardan Waghmare
Dr Janardan Waghmare

With the passing of Dr Janardan Waghmare on Monday (2 March) at the age of 91, Maharashtra has lost one of its brightest intellectuals. The architect of the famed ‘Latur Pattern’, Dr Waghmare was an eminent thinker, educationist, author and critic. Besides being the founder Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University in Nanded, Dr Waghmare was a former Member of Parliament, the only directly elected President of Latur Municipal Council, a lifelong member of Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, and a member of Nanded Education Society (established by Swami Ramanand Teerth). Dr Waghmare passed away after a brief illness.


With his death, Marathi intellectual and literary discourse has lost a radiant beacon. Dr Waghmare’s life was a testament to the saying that education lends fulfilment to life and nobility to character. His was a life enriched by relentless reading, reflection, scholarship, teaching, authorship, philosophical inquiry and critical thought.


Early life and education

Born on 11 November 1934 in Janwal village in Chakur Taluka in Latur District, Dr Janardan Waghmare grew up in modest surroundings. His father, Madhavrao Waghmare, was a farmer and ensured that young Janardan received education at home by appointing a private tutor. He later joined the government school in Latur, where he studied alongside Shivraj Patil, the man who later in life was to become Union Home Minister. Their friendship lasted decades.


Waghmare completed matriculation from Marwadi Rajasthan Vidyalaya at a time when Urdu was the medium of instruction. Collegiate education took him to Hyderabad. He bagged first prize in the All-India Hindi Elocution Competition while at Nizam College in 1955. His achievement was personally acknowledged by then President Rajendra Prasad, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon.


He earned a BA from Osmania University.


He then pursued a Master’s in English Language and Literature in 1959 from Pune University (now Savitribai Phule Pune University).


Career, further studies, personal life

After his Master’s, Waghmare worked as a teacher at Shivchhatrapati College in Omerga and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College in Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar). He pursued an LLB degree.


Raised with Arya Samaj values, Waghmare married Sulochana, daughter of Manikrao Arya (Jadhav). It was an inter-caste marriage, a progressive step at the time.


He completed his MA in English Language and Literature in 1959 from Pune University (now Savitribai Phule University, Pune), and soon began his teaching career. After serving at Shivchhatrapati College in Omerga and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College in Aurangabad (Chh Sambhajinagar), he also pursued an LLB degree.


He took on a transformative responsibility in 1970 and became the first Principal of Rajarshi Shahu College, which was founded to educate students from marginalised communities. Under his visionary leadership, the college rose to prominence as a centre of academic excellence and social transformation.


The Latur Pattern

It was during his tenure that the famed ‘Latur Pattern’, a rigorous, disciplined, results-oriented approach to education, took shape and gained nationwide recognition.


In his 25 years of work as Principal (1970–1994), he shaped the careers of thousands of students.


Literary work

He served as Principal for 25 years (1970–1994), shaping thousands of students who went on to distinguished careers in India and abroad. Dr Waghmare was equally distinguished in literature. His first book, American Negro: Literature and Culture (1978), was widely acclaimed, even drawing praise from celebrated writer P L Deshpande in Maharashtra Times. Over his lifetime, he authored 75 books, including works in English and Hindi, covering politics, society, philosophy, autobiography (A Handful of Soil), and biographies such as Sharad Pawar: Personality, Leadership and Achievement.


Many of his works received prestigious awards. His writing and activism reflected deep engagement with India’s Dalit movement, and he also enthralled audiences through Hindi poetry.

He became the founder Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded. He laid a strong foundation and initiated several significant reforms, including ‘caste-free village’, a model developed through National Sevagram initiatives.


Political life

His tenure as directly elected President of Latur Municipal Council in 2001 was marked by a firm anti-corruption stance and transparency. The council won first prize in the Maharashtra Sant Gadge Baba Urban Cleanliness Campaign.


Sharad Pawar nominated Dr Waghmare to the Rajya Sabha, an honour befitting his stature.


As a Member of Parliament, he served on key committees, including Human Resource Development and Defence.


In 2009, he was part of the Indian parliamentary delegation to the United Nations, where he addressed representatives from 150 nations on global peace, earning admiration for his eloquence.


Dr Waghmare received numerous state and national honours, including the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Dalit Mitra Award (1994) from the Government of Maharashtra.


He presided over multiple major Marathi literary meets, including the 38th Marathwada Literary Meet in 2016, and chaired the International Hindi Literary Seminar organised by Sant Kabir Pratishthan in 2017.


(The writer is a journalist based in Latur.)

 

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