Kasab’s Verdict and more Bitter Pills

Yesterday the country waited anxiously for the final verdict on Kasab. At last the country got to know that Kasab has got Death Penalty. Judge Tahaliyani gave the final verdict and Special Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam was all smiles after the final judgement was made.

Now the harder question arises. Kasab is not going to the gallows very soon. It will take years if we are to go by the counts - 50 pending cases and Kasab stands 51st in that row. Now to go to the gallows one has to be in a queue. Strange isn’t it?

The bitter pill we have to swallow is the huge amount of money that’ll be spent on him on a daily basis. He will be under special care as no harm has to come to him. Kasab’s lawyer will plead for clemency and next, it’ll be waiting time. Till his last breath Kasab will be living on the tax-payers money.

Terror threats and acts of terrorism have become so common that we have come to live with it. But for how long can life continue like this. A step forward in fighting against terrorism is to execute such inhuman people at the earliest so that it can be a lesson for others who have such vicious thoughts in mind.

Kolkata Fire and More Thoughts

The Kolkata fire that broke out in Stephen Court in the Park Street area, keep many thinking about the safety norms that are followed by the Municipal Authorities and the Government for buildings in the different parts of this country. Only some time back there was the Bangalore fire which is still fresh in the minds and now this sad happening.

Is it not the time for the State and the Central government to rise from their sleep and do something constructive to improve the safety norms in the buildings? We cannot simply brush away by saying the building was old and did not have the present safety norms. After all each building, big or small in size, pay their annual taxes. So it is very much within the knowledge of the authorities about each and every building and new construction that’s taking place. Seeing that the safety norms are in place becomes the foremost consideration.

After reading all the reports in the newspapers and on the television, it is very clear how the top two floors had come up. So many lives have been lost and many are still missing. For this great havoc whom do we hold responsible? A question that’ll be searching for answers but in the end the whole episode will be swept under the carpet.

India is growing, in which areas??? It is hard to say. Lives lost in fire breakouts in massive buildings, mishap after mishap at Metro Construction sites in Delhi, terror attacks like the one in Mumbai, price rise, the list is too long. Is India growing at the cost of the lives of the Aam Admi? What is the cost of the life of a common man?

A pondering thought till next general election...and then...will the same story be retold...