The one thing predictable about accidents is that they happen. It does not need an excess of intelligence to be prepared for them, as far as it is humanly possible, in terms of prevention before they happen as well as damage control in the aftermath. In ordinary day-to-day living, the laying of invisible safety nets is almost unconscious, a habit so much a part of routine activity that it is hard to discern as something special. But when it is a case of the disposal or conveyance of hazardous material and industrial waste, the habit of protection is transformed into elaborate technologies and detailed guidelines, so that there is least danger and environmental damage in the process. This naturally takes into account the possibility of accidents.

In the context of the sinking of the Bangladeshi cargo ship with a three-storey tall, uncovered heap of fly ash in the Hooghly, it would be instructive to ask who in West Bengal is surprised or shocked. Anywhere else in the world, such an occurrence would cause not just outrage, but also spur investigations into the source of such devastating neglect. But in a part of the world where no rule need be followed, especially if it costs money, where callousness and a kind of block-headed stupidity are common, where the general feeling is that there are just too many people around to worry about, and, in any case, no one will notice a thing — will there be any sustained reaction to what the cargo of the sunken ship represents? Fly ash, heavy in arsenic and other materials that are dangerous when they exceed certain measures in the environment, is regularly conveyed along this route, and it is apparent from the exposed pile that adequate protection is not taken to prevent it from polluting the environment should anything happen. This accords perfectly with the general culture of indifference towards the environmental damage that is shown, not just by the immediate stake-holders in any enterprise, but also by the administrative authorities whose job it is to see that rules are followed without exception. It is not necessary to go to industry for examples. A simpler, ready-to-hand illustration of this would be provided by totting up the number of elephants that have been killed by trains in recent times. What is more alarming is the ad hoc method that has been thought of to prevent the now solidified ash on the ship from spreading to the riverbed. Will there be any questioning of this amateurish damage control later?