A tragic incident in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh has reminded everybody of the dangers of municipal infrastructure that we should know to do. Tauheed, a local boy, had fallen in an open sewer near the bus station (Bareilly). Just a few hours after it happened, his body was lost and his death left the townspeople shocked at the time as well as the city and not in grief.
Tauheed was going to the bus station to catch a ride back home. In a sad turn of events, he slipped and fell into an uncovered sewer and the rescue took him too long. His body was retrieved after 30 hours and everyone from his neighborhood and country grieved.
The accident has raised the danger to the safety of public places. An open sewer is obviously a hazard in such a busy area and not preventive measures must be taken well enough, according to some.
Residents in Bareilly had anger and sadness, which has been held together in post of terror. And those people have said that this kind of negligence is not new, that open drains and unsafe public spaces are all places that do not allow for safety. Social media exacerbated the story and people had to pressure the government. The tragedy did symbolize the long-drawn distance between the rise of India internationally and the security of its people.
India is now noted as the fourth largest economy in the world. And incidents like this show that growth of the economy doesn’t translate into better civic infrastructure. Despite technological advances, industry and international attention, basic protection measures against public safety remain neglected in India’s streets and villages.
Tauheed’s death is a reminder that development should be inclusive; we need to look not only down at growth numbers but also take into consideration the dignity and safety of ordinary citizens too. The city’s big responsibility is keeping open sewers, bus stations running and safe rescue systems.
The Bareilly tragedy took only a few seconds but had a lasting impact. The accidental fall at the feet of Tauheed onto an open sewer and the lack of treatment for Tauheed’s trapped body is testimony to the high importance of civic responsibility in India. What has turned up and stayed up overnight as a man's life is about to get destroyed and has nothing to do with whether the citizenry are safe now as well.
