I am writing about the fire at the Birch restaurant in Arpora. The tragedy shows how corruption works in plain sight. The fire happened because safety rules were ignored. That is the simple root cause. Yet the people who took bribes to overlook those rules are now offering fake sympathy for the victims. It is ironic that the same hands that helped create the danger are now pretending to be sad. Most of these places are owned by people who live outside Goa. They bring in staff from other states, which makes it easier for them to pay bribes to local officials who do not know the workers personally. When the bribe‘givers are outsiders, the corrupt officials feel safe. The only way to stop this is a honest investigation by the police and a fair trial by the courts. We must watch the case closely so it does not become a short news story that is forgotten in a few weeks. If public attention fades, the guilty will be let off and these unsafe places will keep breaking the law.
