Fire in the Slums of Kolkata. A personal View

Fire In the City ,Fire Fighters Helpless

12th Jan '10 is an upsetting day in this so called civilized society.Basanti Colonies,a slum in north kolkata caught fire .Slum dwellers were found running helter-skelter to save their lives.Domestic cylinders were acting like explosives. Unfortunately,by the time fire control guards reached the venue everthing was reduced to debris . They had to meet too many hurdles to reach the affected spot. .Eratic auto rickshaws ,cycles let the blockage hindering the fire menreaching the colony.The inferno was turning vigourous and its smoke could be seen from the blockade point and barricade cleared after the drivers rushed to save their homes and families. Next was TC squatter blocking the way due to protest against transcending prices.Same story repeated and fire fighters were not allowed to proceed even after many requests. Finally when the fighters reached the venue and only salvage operation was left. Poor slum dwellers rushed to save their belongings but all they found was the remains of their property ,food,clothes . They were left ina mitigated condition as thier valuables matters a lot to them unlike that of white collar and higher civil societies. Moreover the people heading towards airport,school children and travellers were also disrupted.The slum dwellers at last occupied the nearby railway station as a temporary shelter. Now, who is to be blamed for this devastation? You , me actually all of us. Public infrastructure like trains,roads,hospitals,school should not be targetted to show up our agony or the demands before of the government.Their can be other means too. Any ambulance carrying a serious patient would'nt have been able to make its way to the hospital in proper time.The patient must be sharing the same human rights as we do,don't we? To have an ideal civil society weeds in ourselves are needed to be chopped off before we point finger on others.
Note: References from TOI.This post is no way related to political scenario but an effort to spread a message.