Destroying Public Property

So many times we see public property being destroyed in the name of protest. In fact, burning govt offices, buses has become a norm in every so called protest. We have seen this happen even in the recent episodes of farmer protests.

Somehow the populace has come to an understanding that the only way to teach a lesson to the government is by pelting stone at KSRTC and BMTC buses and burning them as well. What brought them to this conclusion is only anybody’s guess. How can burning buses help any cause they are protesting for?

These people just don’t seem to understand that they are hurting themselves by such actions. Usually it the local buses that bear the brunt of such protests. The likely consequence is that there will be shortage of buses plying in that route from the next day. It is so ironic that the same people will then start cursing the GOVT for not providing the service.  The resources spent on repairing/replacing could have well spent on adding additional service.

Somehow, the general feeling of ownership is not imbibed into the population. People do not seem to understand that anything Govt owns is indirectly paid by them in the form of different taxes. Offcourse,  most people do not pay taxes which is a totally different issue that needs to debated. Until such ownership feeling is developed,  such behavior will continue to prevail.

Another issue is, there is no credible deterrence against such acts. How many times have we read about  people being sent to jail for burning a bus or pelting stones on Govt vehicles?  In the absence of such deterrence, there is a general feeling that anything done in the name of protests will be allowed to fade off or the matter is closed once the incidents fades off the public memory. Nobody knows what happened to all those arrested during Dr. Rajkumar’s funeral procession or many such incidents. There are also news that police had made arrests after the recent violence in hubli-dharwad and haveri. But there is no official word about the status.

We also see statements by some of the politicians to take back cases against farmers who were protesting for fertilizers. Doesn’t that mean that such politicians directly abet destructive behavior during such protests? Is it really good for the development of the society? What message do we give out by such statements to the general populace?

Government should strongly come out against such acts of violence both by educating the public against such acts as well as taking strong measures like enacting laws, making arrests and making sure that those arrested are sent to jail in a timely manner. If for example a person is sent jail for a year for torching a bus, then that would definitely make people think about indulging in such acts.

There are ample opportunities to set right the wrong notions in the society. The only lacking factor is the “WILL” both from the part of GOVT and the society!!!! It will be very interesting to see how the GOVT headed by  CM B.S yaddyurapp and the new Home Minister Dr. V.S Acharya  handle such cases. Also, in this age if RTI, why is the media not highlighting the issue by finding out the status of the previous cases?

Please tell us what you think about this issue.