Dear Mr. Ministers, Mr. Municipality, Mr Hospital authorities and other Representatives of people,

sodepur fire

Hello and Namaskar to all of you. I hope, you all are doing very well, and are keeping in good health, and enjoying a lot with your family. Hope all your intra-party meetings also went well. It’s very important to attend the meetings and be aware of the grievances of the people who are your intimate followers. I am just so glad that you are here to represent the people of India. Without you, India would have been so lost! I wish you all the success in life.

The purpose of this open letter to all of you is to bring a “minor issue” to your notice “very respectfully”. Please don’t take any offense, but kindly refer to the news links below as soon as possible, if you have internet connection at home, or if your secretaries have it at home. If not, then please take an effort to “walk” to the nearest cyber cafe and have a look at these links. I have been shattered when I heard the news from US, and I thought I should let you know.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/12-dead-20-injured-in-Sodepur-shop-fire/310801/

http://howrah.org/india_news/12475.html

http://howrah.org/West-Bengal/12434.html

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=134159

In case you have not heard of, or you have not had much time to think about the above “fun-filled” and “joyous” incident, I would like to tell you that my dear uncle had “thanked you so much” before he had a very “peaceful” death in one of your hospitals, where the injured from this accident were taken.

For your information, my uncle was visiting his elderly relatives for a few days in India, and he was coming back home the very next day, to my aunty( my very own mashi), who was eagerly waiting for him, back in Bangladesh. He thought of doing some last minute shopping on that fatal afternoon of 16th of May, before he would come back. While he was inside a ready-made garments shop, the entire shopping mall caught on fire (please refer to the links again), because there was supposedly a gas cylinder burst caused by a spark from a welding machine. The shopkeeper very cleverly decided that his goods were more valuable to him than his customers..and therefore, he jumped outside, and quickly pulled down the shutter of the shop, leaving his customers, including my poor Mesho ( my uncle ) inside. Wow !! I am getting thrilled.. . are you also excited Mr. Ministers ?

Then let me tell you the next part of the story( or movie, whichever sounds more interesting to you), because no one knows what happened inside.. even I don’t know what were the conversations among those poor souls.. so, let’s avoid that part. It anyway doesn’t matter to you, does it ? Just kidding Mr. Ministers..

So, everyone knows how the fire brigade brought the devastating fire under control.. so bravely.. next was to rescue the injured and to get them to the hospital.. my uncle, for your kind information, was one of those who were still alive…some people took him to barrack-pore hospital, which was a drive of more than 1.5 hours from the spot, and after they reached the hospital, the authorities said they didn’t have any spare oxygen cylinder to help him breathe. BRAVO !! My uncle therefore succumbed to Carbon-monoxide poisoning.

Well, don’t worry Mr. Ministers , Mr. representatives of people ( the municipality ) and the Doctors… my uncle didn’t blame you much before dying, because he accepted the fact that you generally are not very much well-equipped to rescue, and also to saving people. In fact, he thanked you so many times before he peacefully passed away. I, on behalf of my family, and my uncle’s wife… my dearest mashi(aunty), who is currently unconscious and is in under saline after she heard it, would also like to thank you for giving us this beautiful gift ( his body ) for their 23rd marriage anniversary. By the way, the body is still on it’s way to Bangladesh. It hasn’t reached us yet. We are eagerly awaiting his arrival. :-)

We have come to know from various sources that, the Superintendent of Police, the Finance Minister, and the Fire Minister have kindly made visits to the spot. They have given generous speeches and have asked the police to lock up two people…so, kind of you Mr. Ministers.. i am so glad, that there are people like you, but is that it Mr Representatives ?????

Don’t keep quiet .. Answer me !!!!

Do you realize the pain that these people had to go through ? Have you ever lost close relatives in such a tragic incident ? Tell me Mr. Representatives, what other steps will you take to prevent the history from repeating ?

Mr. Ministers and Mr. Municipality, apart from making benevolent comments and locking up 2 people, was there any other step that you have taken ? Have you ensured that the emergency exits will work in every shopping mall, or cinema halls ?

Tell me Mr. hospital authorities, from next time, will you ensure that each and every hospital will have enough oxygen cylinders ?

If you try to say sorry, I will slap you right on your face. Saying sorry doesn’t work all the time. Do you realize that “you” all are responsible for this death ? Doesn’t it ever trigger to you that it is high time that you take some appropriate steps ? Tell me, if any of your relatives were in such a situation, what would the police, the municipality and the hospitals have done to rescue them ? Wouldn’t they have given the highest priority to save your relatives’ lives ? Don’t say no… they would have.. because you are the government, and you are the king…

I know, you will just read this letter, and go back to your daily routines, but do keep this in mind that if you don’t take any appropriate measures, history will repeat, and there will be many more people like me, beginning to hate you.

As long as ignorant people like you are there Mr. Ministers, Mr. Municipality and Mr. Hospital Authorities, many parts of India, and particularly West Bengal will take a long time to get out of the dark age. Some one needs to educate you more. Your eyes are blindfolded and that’s why you can’t see the pain that me and my family are going through.

SHAME ON YOU Mr. Ministers…. SHAME ON YOU Mr. Municipality.. AND SHAME ON YOU…Mr. Hospital Authority

SHAME ON ALL OF YOU !