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Correspondent

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.

Sarnaik heckled; driven out

Thane: Hundreds of people joined a morcha organised by the MNS and some social groups on Tuesday to defend the Marathi 'asmita' (pride) in Mira Bhayandar area of Thane district amid rising political heat following the attack on a shopkeeper for not speaking Marathi.


Leaders and workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) also joined the protest amid high drama on the streets and detention of several activists by police.


Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik who visited the protest site in the afternoon was heckled and driven away by angry demonstrators.


Police had denied permission for the protest march citing the potential threat to law and order. However, after high drama on the streets and apparent political intervention, the morcha passed through the original route proposed by the organisers.


The rally was organised by MNS and other pro-Marathi groups the aegis of Marathi Ekikaran Samiti to counter a protest staged by traders recently against the slapping of a food stall owner by MNS activists for not speaking Marathi, officials said.


The situation became tense when police started detaining protesters raising slogans for protecting the 'Marathi asmita' (pride). Some of them were picked up by the police while they were addressing the media.


Several functionaries of MNS were detained from midnight.


Television channels flashed images of women being bundled into police vans while they were shouting slogans against the "high-handedness" of the police. Several activists were detained inside a banquet hall to prevent them from reaching the protest venue.


CM’s damage control

As high drama unfolded on the streets, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis moved in to contain the potential political damage.


He said permission had been granted for the rally but the MNS insisted on a specific route which posed law and order challenges.


"If they ask for permission for a proper route, we will give permission today and even tomorrow. Another organisation held a rally on the route approved by the police, but these people remained adamant on a particular route," he told reporters in Mumbai.


The groundswell of support for the Marathi cause prompted Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik to criticise the police for "uncalled action" which is not in line with any government directive.


"The police's action was completely wrong. The government has not issued any such instructions to suppress a peaceful morcha in support of Marathi interests," Sarnaik told reporters and asserted that he would discuss the matter with the chief minister.


"This kind of attitude by the police is unwarranted, and if the Marathi-speaking people had sought permission for a peaceful morcha, the police should have permitted them," he said.


Sarnaik joined the protest march in the afternoon.


Enthusiastic march

Thousands of people holding placards, flags and wearing white caps emblazoned with "Me Marathi" slogans, walked enthusiastically on the streets in Mira Road and adjoining Bhayandar.


Several women, workers of the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) walked together, united by the Marathi cause.


Many people at the spot directed their ire towards the BJP-led government, accusing it of allowing traders to take out a rally a few days back in the same area while denying permission to Marathi people.


"Common people will teach a lesson to them (BJP-led government) in the coming days for their hatred towards Marathi people", a protester said.


Sana Deshmukh, wearing a hijab, said the Marathi people won't let the government suppress their voice.


People marched peacefully through the main streets from Balaji Square to the Major Kaustubh Rane memorial in front of the Mira Road railway station.


The row over the "imposition" of language in primary schools of Maharashtra has snowballed into a major political flash point ahead of civic polls after MNS activists slapped a food stall owner in the Bhayander area for not speaking Marathi.


Meanwhile, the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar Police has released MNS leader Avinash Jadhav and hundreds of activists detained earlier, DCP (Zone I) Prakash Gaikwad said.


"We had not permitted the morcha earlier and not even now," he told reporters.


“If you listen to the complete statement of Nishikant Dubey, he particularly spoke about an organisation and not against Marathi people in general. However, in my opinion, it is inappropriate to make such comments. Its interpretation causes confusion among the minds of people. I feel no one can reject the contribution of Maharashtra and Marathi people in the history and present of the country. If someone is rejecting it, then I feel it is wrong.”

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister

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