ON 25th June, an oil tanker was on its way from Karachi to Lahore when it turned upside down due to overspeeding and burst into flames on the National Highway, near Ahmedpur, Shariqa District, Bahawalpur, resulting in the death of 152 people and at least 100 others were severely injured.

Why did the people rush to collect the dangerous fuel? Why didn’t they obey the local police and tanker driver? Why did they become so greedy just to get some free petrol?

This reminded me of super floods 2010 when many internally displaced people surrounded a helicopter carrying food supplies for them. It nearly crashed and then flew off immediately so as to escape from the people.

Ali Gul Leghari
Johi, District Dadu

(2)

FAMILY members and friends of Bahawalpur tragedy victims buried their loved ones with heavy hearts. Around 160 were killed and at least 100 others were injured in the incident.

This incident has left a lot of questions for us as individuals and as a nation too. Discussions went on on the electronic media as to who was responsible for this fatal incident.

According to the National Highway Authority (NHA), the tanker was found non-compliant (overloaded), making the tank trailer unstable. The vehicle also violated the rules of OGRA and ADR. If this is true, then why was the tanker not grounded by the transport company? And how did it reached there travelling almost 818 km from Kemari to Ahmadpur East? A small negligence or inefficiency caused major incident.

Last but not the least, responsibility also lies on the shoulders of the victims who lost their lives just for nothing. We as a nation should learn from this.

Asad ullah
Gwadar

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...
Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...