Eyes that see nothing despite being open

It is not only heartbreaking and shameful but also deeply unsettling for the future that only the loss of a life—trapped by negligence, poor governance, and carelessness—can jolt us into awareness about the urgent need for vigilance. The tragic incident in which a Class 8 student was electrocuted while trying to retrieve a friend’s shoe from the school shed occurred on Thursday morning in Thevalakkara, Kollam. It took just one day for calls to be made for strict action against school authorities who fail to safeguard students or report safety lapses in time, and for the government to assert its right to take over aided schools that display such negligence. But this awakening came at the irreversible cost of 13-year-old Mithun Manu’s life.

In Kannur, it took the collapse of a section of the national highway onto a service road to expose flaws in construction quality and prompt an order to reconstruct the entire stretch. Thankfully, no one was hurt. In Kottayam, a woman waiting with her daughter for surgery at the medical college hospital lost her life when an old building gave way—a tragedy that finally forced authorities to assess ageing hospital structures. Lives are still lost in potholes left by careless roadwork, due to medical malpractice, and to stray dog attacks. Each time a calamity unfolds, the administration reacts with shock and promises swift action—but often only after the damage is done.

Debate continues over who bears responsibility for Mithun's death. The Education Department blames the school. The Electricity Department points fingers at Education. Some ministers have gone as far as blaming the child himself for climbing the shed. Eventually, the headmistress was suspended, and the minister reiterated the government's right to take control of the school. But no one acknowledged the clear danger of a low-hanging live wire above the school shed—easily within reach of children. It was that deadly oversight that claimed the life of an innocent boy. Mithun’s dreams were etched into the drawings he made on the walls of his modest home. The playground, where he once laughed and played football with friends, had quietly witnessed his hopes.

He was the eldest son of a mother who toiled as a housemaid in Kuwait to provide for the family, and the beacon of hope for his father, a daily wage worker. Now, when his mother returns home, her son will not be waiting. And today, as his body is brought back to the school for a final farewell, there will not be a single tearless face. We may move on, brushing this off as just another tragic event. But the traps of accidents and disasters lie wide open every day along the paths you and I walk — not hidden, but clearly visible to all. What’s needed are eyes that are willing to see them. And never again should a life have to be sacrificed to open those eyes.