Indian Express Editorial Summary

Editorial Topic : Hathras Stampede Tragedy

 GS-3 Mains Exam : Disaster Management

Incident:

• Date: July 2nd
• Location: Hathras (religious gathering)
• Deaths: 121 (mostly women and children)
• Cause: Stampede

Failures of District Administration:

• Approved gathering for 80,000 but over 250,000 attended.
• Ignored potential for crowd swelling beyond sanctioned numbers.
• Lack of crowd management plan.
• No proper entry/exit points or CCTVs at the venue (next to a highway).
• Delay in providing medical aid to the injured.

The Infamous Bhole Baba:

• Real name: Suraj Pal Singh (former UP police constable).
• Accused of misconduct during police service.
• Became a “godman” after suspension and voluntary retirement.
• Allegedly spreads misinformation and claims curative powers for his photographs.

Aftermath:

• FIR filed against sevadar volunteers (not Bhole Baba yet).
• Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate.
• Post-mortem results: Deaths due to crushing, suffocation, and internal injuries.

Way Forward:

• Prosecute Bhole Baba under relevant laws (e.g., Drugs and Magic Remedies Act).
• Investigate his wealth and potentially seize it under anti-social activities act.
• Implement existing crowd management guidelines and learn from past tragedies.

Conclusion:

• The administration’s negligence and disregard for established protocols led to this avoidable disaster.

 

 

Indian Express Editorial Summary

Editorial Topic : Uninterrupted Data Flow Needed for Policy Decisions

 GS-3 Mains Exam : Economy

Issue:

• Govt. decided to stop publishing detailed GST data regularly (after 7 years of GST regime).
• This follows instances of withholding other economic data (employment survey, consumption expenditure survey).

Why is Regular Data Release Important?

• GST Data:
  • Provides info on tax collection, state-wise tax, compensation cess.
  • Acts as a timely indicator of economic health (unlike GDP data with a 2-month lag).
  • Helps assess if govt. is on track with revenue targets and fiscal deficit.

Other Examples of Withheld Data:

• 2017-18 consumption expenditure survey – “quality issues” cited.
• Debate over 2017-18 employment and unemployment survey.

Positive Steps by Government:

• Conducted and released employment surveys at regular intervals.
• Released fact sheets on household consumption expenditure survey and annual survey of unincorporated enterprises.

Recommendations:

• Resume regular release of detailed GST data.
• Conduct the much-delayed census (delay due to pandemic no longer justifiable).
• Transparency in data is crucial for informed policy making.