The nation has met with a great tragedy in the shape of drowning of 24 young engineering students from Hyderabad in River Beas near Thalot, 40 kms from Mandi. The students had gone on a trip to enjoy the cool weather and natural beauty of Manali in Himachal Pradesh when the tragedy happened. We express sorrow on this accident that has consumed precious lives of budding engineers in the country and convey condolence to their families.
The people are justified in expressing their anger against the authorities who were manning the dam. It is common sense that before water was released from the reservoir of 126 MW Larji hydropower project, the authorities should have ensured that the people living or staying close to the waters of the Beas are warned in good time to mind the gushing waters. They did not issue any warning and the students who had come for picnic naturally were enjoying themselves on the banks of the river at a vintage point when they were caught unawares. This is a great tragedy and words are not strong enough to mourn the loss. This should never have happened if the authorities manning the dam were careful about the consequences of releasing water in such a huge quantity. We also feel inclined to say that the college/university authorities in Hyderabad should have issued a set of dos and don’ts to the picnic going groups of students when they planned their trip to Manali. It is generally the duty of public relations department of the college/university to do that part of the job. We would recommend that the Ministry of Human Resource Development issues standing instructions to all universities in the country that it is the duty of the universities/colleges/institutions to brief the excursionist groups of students on the broad aspects of the destination which they choose to visit during their trip.
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