TIME TO RECTIFY ‘MISTAKE’
The tragedy which struck the holy cave shrine of Shri Amarnathji in south Kashmir Himalayas should be taken as a lesson to make sure that such things do not happen again. The point raised by National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah should be taken as very seriously because the matter is of safety of precious lives of the people as Indian Meteorological Department has categorically denied that the unfortunate incident happened due to cloudburst rather it has averred that the gushing of water was due to local heavy rain. The IMD’s statement makes it necessary to probe that why such a tragedy happened and therefore Dr Farooq Abdullah’s demand for holding a probe into the terrible incident that struck Amarnathji Shrine is valid rather it is imperative for taking cue in the coming times as inclement weather conditions are common in such upper reaches. It is pertinent to mention that NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah has demanded a probe into the Amarnath tragedy. The NC leader has said that the incident is unfortunate but the investigation into the matter is necessary. As so many lives have been perished in the incident, it becomes necessary to go for fact finding and prepare in the direction so that the ‘mistake’, if any, could be rectified to make sure that such tragedies do not repeat. The government should also announce the compensation in this catastrophe because kith and kin, who have lost their near ones deserve the same. The issue raised by the former chief minister of erstwhile J&K state that the tents were installed at a wrong place should also be investigated and a proper safety audit of the camp sites in different areas is also the need of the time. It is advisable that all angles with regard to safety should be taken into consideration before restoring the Yatra as taking risk after such an unfortunate incident is improper. The weather at this time of the year is always unpredictable therefore concerned authorities should remain on tenterhooks to ensure that all safety precautions are taken well in time or else things could become out of control which should not be the case.