mangalore today

Roadside deaths; who is to be blamed for the apathy?


Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Jan 26, 2015: We often get to read in newspapers of unidentified bodies found on roadsides. In most cases, the bodies go unidentified and unclaimed and they are cremated as orphans.


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In one such case, the body of a young man was found on the footpath  in front of the railway office near Muttappa Temple on January 25, Sunday. The body lay there for quite a long time as none of those who had gathered around   chose to inform the police station. The reason evident-they did not want to   undergo the hassles of going to the police station  as a witness and even file  a complaint on  finding  the unidentified body.

This is not a solitary case as  public apathy  was noticeable in similar such cases in the past. But isn’t it the duty of a responsible citizen to immediately inform the police when they see some stranger dead on the road side? Is it right to just walk away after standing as a keen observer along with many others?

There is also a serious question as to why there have been several cases of strangers finding dead on roadsides  in the city in the recent years. In most cases those who have died, might possibly be from other districts or states and those who came to the city in search of jobs and ended up living on footpaths. There are even many people who have made begging their profession and stay in some makeshift tents and die on the roadside  for want of food or proper treatment.

Many even take to alcohol and some  die  on the roadside due to excessive intake of alcohol.But isn’t it high time, the  authorities provided shelter for  such people? According to sources, though the MCC with the help of an NGO had opened three night shelters for destitutes some time back, presently only two are functioning and that their intake capacity is very limited considering the increasing number of homeless and shelterless people, mostly outsiders in the city.

It is high time  the administration need to take serious note of this problem and provide night accommodation to the homeless and beggars.