It was a tragedy that might have been avoided if politicians had not intervened to overturn orders from government officials denying permission to Puttingal Devi temple, Kerala to hold a fireworks show. Over a 100 people lost their lives and scores were injured in a fire that was triggered by the fireworks show and Kerala is in a state in shock. What should have been a jubilant temple festival turned into a tragedy. A day later reports suggest that two officers of the district administration, the police and the fire department had all strong opposed the use of fireworks because what the temple administration envisaged was a fireworks competition between two groups, a contest that eventually turned deadly. It is learnt that the temple committee went ahead with the show despite a ban because it received support from local politicians and assumed that no one would intervene in an election year. Moreover the presence of a large number of devotees at the venue would make it impossible for the administration to implement the ban. The decision of the temple committee and the support it received from politicians needs to be thoroughly investigated because 106 persons paid a heavy price for the care-a-damn attitude of those in positions to avoid such a tragedy. Rules are made to be implemented and when officials go by the book, especially on issues related to safety, others must fall in line or get out of the way. Those responsible for this tragedy must be made an example of so that incidents of this nature are not repeated.
