It is a wake up call

When the news of the tragic death of five members of a family due to suffocation inside a rented accommodation in Pandrethan broke, it shocked one and all. An entire family lost in the tragedy brings an indescribable grief. The pictures of the tragic incident that appeared in the media were benumbing. A small neglect resulting in the loss of five lives is irreconcilable. No body can bring back the lives that have been lost in this incident, and that is where the feeling of helplessness grips us frighteningly.

Death is a fact of life, but the loss of lives in this manner is dreadful. Could these lives have been saved? And more than that, how can we ensure that no lives are lost to asphyxiation  as in this incident. It is not the first time that we have had such a tragedy. Earlier also we have seen how multiple lives were lost in a similar manner. Since the use of gas heaters, heat convectors, charcoal bukharis, and cheap heat blowers is rampant in winters, the chances of such tragedies are always there.

Since all these heating appliances are cheap and easily available, people use it without being mindful of the dangerous implications. There are, normally, no safety measures in place when we use these heating appliances in homes, rented spaces or commercial places. Since these appliances consume oxygen in the room it leads to gradual suffocation. When people keep these appliances on, while going to bed, it leads to accumulation of gases like carbon monoxide that causes suffocation, and consequent death.

This calls for some safety standards to be publicised and ensured that these are followed. The experts need to break brains, and the concerned government departments need to seriously pursue this matter. There are a couple of things that can be done in this regard. One, as a necessary regulatory measure, the manufactures of all such heating equipments must install some safety techniques  in these heating equipments itself. Two, there should be a widespread public awareness campaign in this regard.

Third, at a large scale and as a long term measure, the government should support the manufacturing of heating gadgets that are safe. Such equipments, as a public interest measure, should be available at reasonable prices so that a common household can afford it.