Daily Newsings are musings on the daily news.
Two gruesome tragedies on Saturday have shaken the country — a fire in a hospital in Delhi on Saturday, which left 6 newborn babies dead, and a fire at a gaming arcade in Rajkot in Gujarat, which killed 28 people.
In the first story, the hospital’s license had expired 2 months ago and it did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department.
The Rajkot gaming arcade was not much different. The unit lacked a fire-safety certificate as well, prompting the Gujarat High court to term the incident of fire breaking out as a “man-made disaster.”
What would prompt these institutions to flout protocol, ignore licenses and operate their businesses? Perhaps they thought that these licenses are unnecessary red-tapeism. Perhaps they thought it would slow them down, preventing them from opening their institutions immediately. We don’t know.
Regulations and licensing protocols might seem like unnecessary red-tapeism and inefficient bureaucracy in our fast-paced world. We prefer ease of doing business, and such old-school bureaucracy hinders that. We like our lives, business, mission, and even church to move fast.
In a sin-infested world, bureaucracy can be used for corrupt gain. Licenses can be sold and processes can be jumped through bribes. Moreover, honest people are often punished because they refuse to give a bribe. While acknowledging such realities, we can also be reminded that bureaucratic procedures that slow us down can be a benefit to us. They can be fences that protect us from hurtling out of control in our fast-paced world. Whether in business, or in health-care, or in education, or even in our church, procedures and protocols need not be thrown away lightly. While they may seem frustrating, they can be helpful tools that slow us down. And slow is often good.
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