The pattern is not just predictable&mdash;it&rsquo;s outrageous. After every disaster in Gujarat, officials make empty promises about strict action. Another toothless Special Investigation Team (SIT) is formed. Reports are filed and promptly shelved. Meanwhile, powerful culprits walk free, shielded by their political connections and deep pockets.
How dare the state government fail to punish those responsible for catastrophes like the Takshashila fire, Harni incident, Rajkot TRP Game Zone blaze, and Morbi Bridge collapse? Is justice in Gujarat reserved only for punishing small-time offenders while the influential escape accountability? If not, why haven&rsquo;t these high-profile perpetrators been held accountable? And when they rarely are, why must victims wait years for even a semblance of justice?
The string of tragedies across Gujarat hasn&rsquo;t merely devastated communities&mdash;it has exposed the shameful negligence of a government that continues to prioritize politics over people&rsquo;s lives. These weren&rsquo;t accidents but entirely preventable outcomes of administrative indifference and deliberate regulatory failures that have repeatedly sacrificed innocent lives on the altar of corruption and incompetence.
The 2019 Takshashila fire in Surat killed 22 young students attending a coaching class in a death trap of a building with blatant safety violations. Authorities knowingly ignored such illegal construction despite glaring risks. The 2024 Rajkot game zone fire claimed 27 lives, mostly children, at a facility that had no business operating without proper permits or basic safety measures. In 2022, the Morbi suspension bridge collapse killed 135 people after criminally inadequate repairs and irresponsible overcrowding. Now, the Deesa factory explosion has yet again highlighted the government&rsquo;s unforgivable systemic failures.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s play SIT SIT,&rdquo;&nbsp;goes the bitter reference to a Sunny Deol film dialogue about endless court dates that mock the very concept of justice. In Gujarat, these SITs have become nothing but cynical tools for deflecting accountability rather than delivering justice. Despite countless investigations, why do these preventable tragedies continue unabated? The government forms meaningless committees while citizens suffer in silence.
Following the Deesa explosion, officials have suddenly awakened from their willful slumber and begun inspecting rural firecracker factories. But where was this vigilance before 21 bodies had to be pulled from the rubble? Had authorities done their jobs and acted against this illegal factory earlier, 21 workers who had migrated there simply to earn a living would still be alive today.
After each disaster, the government offers hollow condolences and insultingly inadequate compensation. Grieving families don&rsquo;t need token payments&mdash;they need real accountability that prevents other families from suffering the same fate. Instead, officials engage in despicable excuse-making and shameless blame-shifting. The government now promises severe punishment for those behind the Deesa disaster, but who truly believes justice will be served? Or will this case, too, be buried once the headlines move on?
These recurring tragedies send an unmistakable message: ordinary citizens are paying with their lives for governmental neglect and regulatory corruption. Investigation reports gather dust while public outrage is expected to subside. Until the system is fundamentally reformed and real accountability established, this deadly cycle will continue to claim innocent lives. Gujarati citizens must rise up and demand better, forcing this callous government to fulfill its most basic responsibility of public safety and breaking this disgraceful pattern of investigations that deliberately lead nowhere.

After every disaster in Gujarat, officials make empty promises about strict action

Endless SITs, zero accountability: How political connections shield culprits in Gujarat’s tragedies

Gujarat’s Deadly Pattern: Justice Denied

Endless SITs, zero accountability: How political connections shield culprits in Gujarat’s tragedies

April 2, 2025 | 13:48 IST