We have all read in the newspapers the now quite familiar words from the authorities "Someone needs to come forward and report a crime/mismanagement/mistake before action can be taken against the appropriate department/personnel/institution etc. What I don’t understand is that if a story has already been done on the topic by the reporter, and the newspaper trusts the report enough that it can print the story along with pictures and still the authorities are not interested in taking any action. Case in point, the article in Indian Express on the employment of underage children for cleaning the storm water drains in Pune city. It was accompanied by a photo of a young boy halfway into a manhole. Another report in consisted of the condition of roads in Thane, where road repairs begun last year after monsoons still remain unfinished. How much more of a proof do the authorities require to catch these corrupt contractors? Because of public fear of the bureaucracy nobody wants to get entangled into the system. But if the media is giving proper evidence of the misdeeds that are being committed isn't it the responsibility of the respective service department, be it the public works department, or the police to initiate the investigation to right the wrongs being done? It’s this apathy towards the masses and their problems in general that has put a black mark on the progress card of the nation.

The contractors and other parties involved in this mess, after seeing that no action is or will be taken against them, get more and more bold, flouting ever larger regulations, and in the end the only one who suffers is the common man.

What I don’t understand is that, don’t these very same people, the contractors and officials sitting in their offices crib and rant about the situation of the country? If they do, then why don’t they do something to change it? Is it the mentality that forces them to inaction? I am not sure!

This problem is not isolated to Pune or Maharashtra, but is prevalent all over the country. Open any newspaper and one can find similar stories where the civic authorities are plain not interested. What is the use of a glowing and growing economy when the basic needs of the masses are not fulfilled in the first place???