When Mobile Phones Became a Means for (unintentional/playful) Suicide

 

When Mobile Phones Became a Means for (unintentional/playful) Suicide

More than two decades ago, my wife and I went on a day picnic to a tourist spot. There we met a newlywed couple and the man had a camera in his hand. It was a digital SLR but seemingly not selfie-enabled. I understood his quandary and offered to take their picture against a rock outgrowth.

The young man was about a foot taller than the young woman. I accounted for this difference by requesting the chap to flex at his knee or hip so as to make the height difference a little less. The photo came about very fine and both of them thanked me profusely.

The 100 words above are just my effort to pad up this post. Yet, there is a crucial detail in it that would justify the heading. “...seemingly not selfie-enabled ...”. I read a news item in the front page (actually the third page, as an advertisement occupied the first two pages) of the daily newspaper I subscribe to of June 16, 2025.

A “...British-era iron bridge collapses...” The bridge is an iron truss bridge, built at least 75 years ago (British-era truly ended when India became a Republic). The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was called in and one of its officials is quoted as, “Despite the warning sign at the entrance of the bridge [from one bank], which was weak, rusty and on the verge of collapse, tourists were walking on it.” Apparently some of them drove their two wheelers trying to reach the "Selfie-point", so helpfully pt up by, perhaps, the tourism department.  

Four years ago, a signboard reading “Caution: Accident Site” was erected and it must have cause confusion in the minds of people who did take in the meaning. But the meaning itself is creates ambiguity. It could mean that it is a site of an accident, recent or some years ago, or it is a site that is prone to accidents. Touristy people do not take such warnings in the spirit they should be taken; they are nonchalant, “Would not happen to me!”.

OK, don’t our authorities who regulate these matters−for example, tourism authorities, rural administrations, flood control departments−know that our people become illiterate and innumerate in touristy places, egged on by private tourism developers? When we realize that the tourists give but a passing nod, if that, to garish, glaring danger signboards, how could we expect that they would abide by a chapter and verse of Bhagavad Gita version of the warning? No. We must physically forbid people in acts that create public danger. A wishy-washy warning written in long form cannot help.

The Chief Minister of the state condoles the deaths in his own words (perhaps not vetted by his personal secretary, most likely an IAS officer), “I pay my heartfelt tributes to the deceased.” The part message took me a couple of steps back.

A tribute is something of a praise to someone that helped in some cause; as relevant to the incident where four people were dead in a raging river, an NDRF person who sustained an injury or, God forbid, lost her life is someone deserving of a tribute. NDRF rescuers deserved tributes for saving as many as, or more than 50 people.

The tourists who lost their lives in this instance too deserved a tribute, as human beings who had contributed to or has the potential to contribute to life/society (this is not an assumption, but a normal matter of fact). Not anything more and anything special. Yes, a tribute may also be paid to achievers on their personal life, like Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani (?), Mr. Ratan Tata (?), Mr. Steve Jobs (?) ... I am not sure any such star personality was involved in the accident in River Indrayani, in Pune district in Maharashtra. Then, why the “heartfelt tribute”?

Just one more thing. Instead of responding to an accident, foreseen or otherwise, why could the authorities not have dismantled the bridge and sold the iron for scrap? OK, even if it could have contributed to the GDP of India at 0.0000xxx001%, add to it the potential economic productivity of the people whose life had been lost. A few zeroes in the percentage would have been erased. Across India, we see many such dated infrastructure items that were ready for destruction eons ago (I am, of course, exaggerating), yet have not been.

Some of these are power transmission towers. How does one prevent an adventuresome youth climbing up such an out-of-service tower (as in the River Kollidam in its stretch through Srirangam, slip and fall into the river and get taken down the river but not saved (unlike James Bond in Skyfall)?

Now, his friends would be using their mobile phones to record this derring-do. Without these, just think, where was the motivation for the lad to do what he did. Definitely not zero and more definitely not as much as when your friends have a mobile phone to record your feat.  

No, not in terms of GDP, but as a concern for an unfortunate human being, that would be a loss to humanity, a human lost; out of 1.42 billion, no not to worry. I do. I do not offer my thoughts and prayers as they are decidedly useless. My crying here is also useless, but could impel someone to act.

 This is to hoping.

Raghuram Ekambaram