THIS refers to the tragic fire recently in Faiz Mohammad Daryani Chandio village in Dadu district, which resulted in the death ofnine children and severe burn injuries to 20 men and women. Over 60 housesin the village andeverythinginside them were reduced to ashes, while 150 cattle also perished in the blaze.

Theincidentishorrinc andthelossis heart wrenching. Although the villagers put their lives in danger while trying to put out the fire, the intensity of the blaze was such that it raged through the whole village, leaving almost nothing behind except ashes.

The incident has raised many questions and exposed incompetence of the administration as well as its apathy. But the question is: who is responsible for thehorrendous incident which led to such a tragic loss? There may be several reasons for the incident and loss of life and property, but inaction on the part of the fire department and lack of arrangements to deal with the blaze of such a magnitude seem to be two of the main causes for the loss. The administration failed to provide quick relief during the fire to the affected area.

Had the fire brigade vehicles reached on time, there may have been much less damage and loss of lives. Does the administration not have firefighting equipment and vehicles? If it does have such f acilities, why so much destruction took place? If not, who will claim the responsibility and be answerable to the victims? If there was no proper roads to access the area, who is responsible for not building proper roads? Who will take responsibility for this tragedy? The fact is that the authorities failed miserably to help the villagers, who were lef t at the mercy of the raging fire.

While one may ask these questions, it is obvious who is responsible for this loss after the Sindh chief minister admitted that response to the fire was indeed `very slow`. As the government has promised to find out and punish the culprits, it should also launch awareness and training programmes in villages as well as cities regarding how to f ace natural and manmade disasters so that the people may prevent or lessen the loss till the administration comes to their rescue.

People should also be trained in first aid, prevention from fire, how to take precautionary measures during floods, and how to remain safe and survive during heavy rains.

While the enquiry to find out those who are responsible for `slow response`is pending, the government, in the meantime, should provide quick relief to the fire victims, and fulfil its promise of punishing the culprits.

This must be done to convey the message clearly that those who lost their lives in this fire were no less valuable than any human being anywhere on Earth. Human life is important irrespective of the social status of a victim, and must be respected by all at all costs.

Jawad Ahmed Awan Islamabad