Who is responsible for loss of 22 lives in Murree?
The government is not ready to accept that it failed to ensure the safety of tourists in Murree
22 people
including 10 children lost their lives due to snowstorm in Murree. They all froze
to death in their cars as they stranded in the heavy snowfall. The families saw
their loved ones lost lives in front of them as they helplessly watched. One
family lost seven members as they suffocated in their car waiting for help to
arrive. But no help arrived on time to save them.
The blame game has started after the tragic death of 22 tourists in Murree hill station. The government is blaming the tourists and opposition and tourists are blaming the government.
The government is busy putting the blame on tourists. The government has failed to ensure the safety of tourists. on the one hand, government wants to promote tourism in the country but on the other hand, government is not ready to invest in the local infrastructure to provide all the basic needs and facilities in any emergency situation. The Murree tragedy has exposed that our prime tourist destination lacks rescue and emergency services to help people in need.
The government is not ready to reasonability of this tragedy. It is not ready to accept the fact that it failed to make arrangements for emergency situation as heavy snow was expected. The tourists thronged to hill station in big numbers. The government failed to stop the influx of tourists despite knowing that Murree cannot handle too many tourists in winter.
The government must accept that its response was slow and delayed. the lives could have been saved if the government departments and local administration responded to the emergency situation immediately without any delay. The civilian authorities in Murree and other tourist destinations must be provided with modern emergency and rescue equipment and machinery to deal with any emergency situation.
The government could have make proper arrangements to facilitate and guide the tourists. The local administration could have make it sure that tourists must bring proper warm clothes, food and blankets to cope with heavy snowfall.
The
government not only failed to make arrangements to cater the huge number of
tourists but also to keep check on the hotels that increased rents of hotel
rooms without any reason. The increase was so big that many families were not
in the position to afford it.
Many people want
to return back to Rawalpindi /Islamabad in the night after spending some time
in Murree but first they stuck in the traffic jam and then heavy snowfall made
the situation even worse.
These people
went to enjoy the snowfall with friends and families in the famous hill station
of Murree. Their entertainment turned into tragedy as severe snowstorm hit the
hill station. The government started the rescue operation to evacuate stranded
tourists on Saturday but precious human lives were already lost.
The
government ministers and PTI social media teams have so far shown callous
attitude. First, the government ministers declare the huge influx of tourists
as the sign of prosperity and improving living standards. But when 22 tourists
lost their lives, the government started to blame the tourists as careless.
They started
asking question that why so many people went to Murree. Tourists who died in
Murree are characterized as careless. The government cannot take responsibility
for its own incompetence.
Senior
journalist and analyst Syed Talat Hussain rightly pointed out in his tweet that “First
you couldn’t save them, then you insult them by saying they died of their own
negligence, and as if this wasn’t inhuman enough, you unleash jokers to joke
about how the public should enjoy snow—use snow spray at home, said one clown. Unbelievable
diseased minds.”
Leader of
the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said
he was heartbroken over the tragedy in Murree and questioned who was
responsible for the deaths.
"Where
was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with
such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality. Prior
arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the
past," he tweeted.
Terming the
deaths heartbreaking, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said governments
"needed to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on the Galiyat
routes".
"Instead
of seeking more tourists govt should have given a warning for jammed roads.
These were tragic & avoidable losses which no one intended, but no one
acted in time either. Lessons need to be learnt," she added.
"The
job of governments is not only to count tourists but also to make advance
arrangements and security measures for them . These deaths are not due to
snowfall, but due to government negligence," tweeted PML-N Vice President
Maryam Nawaz.
Raja Yasir
Abbasi, the secretary general of the Hotels Association, announced free stay
and food arrangements for tourists stranded in Murree.
Speaking
to media, he railed against the local administration for their
"mismanagement", saying that the death of a police officer and his
family were wholly due to "departmental and administrative laziness".
Please stop blaming the victims, accept responsibility and make sure that such incidents never happen again.
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