Editorial
Death by water in Pallabi
The incident raises some grave questions
The death by drowning of five young people in a lake in Pallabi on Wednesday is a good deal more than merely being tragic. Indeed, the incident raises a few questions not only about the nature of the deaths themselves but also about human nature. The first of these questions relates to the matter of why these young people, ten in all, suddenly decided to pile themselves on a boat that bore the risks of an accident. The lake (or jheel in common parlance) is these days brimming with rainwater on account of the on-going monsoon, which should have been reason enough for these young people to stay away from that fateful boat ride. It is understood that the boatman had earlier warned these young people about the risks involved. Unfortunately, no heed was paid to him.
But, of course, it is children we are talking about here. And it is pure juvenile adventurism that eventually led to this tragedy. But then comes another question, one that has a bearing on our collective response to tragedy. One of the survivors of the sad incident noted that despite their pleas and cries for help from bystanders around the lake no one came forward to help the young people out of the water. Only the boatman himself and one of the boys on the boat went desperately to work to help get everyone out of the water. It is doubly tragic that the boy himself ended up losing his life in his effort to save his friends. But no one who stood on the banks of the lake came forth to help these drowning young people out of danger. Why they did that is a question that disturbs us. The psychology involved in such behaviour often becomes inexplicable. Or have we become too de-sensitised as a society to care about the other person? Be that as it may, a few truths emerge from the tragedy. The first relates to the need for parental guidance for children about behaviour. The second calls for strict measures that will restrict the use of facilities of the kind which led to the five deaths on Wednesday.
Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the dead. Our prayers are with them.
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