This refers to the recent sad incident of fire erupting in a private school building in Lahore. Children and a young teacher were badly burnt and some kids with injuries were admitted to the hospital. It is stated that police has registered a case under so many acts, one of them being 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire and combustible material) while the officials visited the site and assured that they will soon present a Private School Bill in Punjab Assembly.
This incident reminds me of the Karachi fire in a garments factory. The same criminal negligence was observed there too, which caused a large number of casualties and the people grieved for weeks. All such incidents pose a serious question mark on the responsibilities of the government as well as the administration. Government should play its role in providing security measures instead of just registering a case against the administration and closing the school, which will only result in loss of studies for children and at the end of the day a deal will be made between the police and the school administration. This is not a solution to the problem.
The government should make sure that the many laws that do exist should be implemented instead of corrupt authorities issuing a clean bill of health to such buildings endangering many lives. The administration must also take some serious and considerable measures to reduce the risk of such dangerous events which are a serious threat to lives of innocent children. The teachers, other staff and the kids should get basic training for steps to avoid such events and to cope with the emergency conditions.
SANA AHMED AWAN,
Lahore, February 22.