As one other harsh winter closes in on Kashmir, the Valley prepares as soon as once more for sub-zero nights, heavy snowfall, and lengthy stretches of energy uncertainty. In these months, heating devices grow to be greater than conveniences, they flip into lifelines. From electrical heaters to gasoline bukharis, from blowers to kangris, each family is dependent upon some type of heat to endure the bitter chill. Yet, with this dependence comes a recurring and painful reality, far too many tragedies lately have resulted from the careless or uninformed use of those very units. Fires sparked by electrical overload, asphyxiation resulting from poor air flow, and cylinder mishandling have claimed valuable lives throughout Valley, forsaking devastated households and elevating pressing questions on security consciousness. What makes these incidents notably heartbreaking is that the majority of them had been preventable. In a area the place winter is an extended, predictable actuality, the dialog round heating security needs to be ingrained in public consciousness, not revisited solely after disasters strike. The first step have to be collective duty. Authorities have to play a extra proactive function in issuing winter security advisories effectively prematurely, not as perfunctory statements however as sustained campaigns throughout media, colleges, group areas and digital platforms. Simple reminders comparable to avoiding in a single day use of room heaters, making certain cross-ventilation whereas utilizing gas-based home equipment, checking wiring for put on and tear, and retaining fireplace extinguishers or sand buckets at dwelling can save lives. But duty doesn’t relaxation with the federal government alone. Households, too, should internalise secure practices as a part of winter preparation together with periodic inspection of heating units, avoiding makeshift fixes, and discouraging reliance on substandard or uncertified home equipment typically offered cheaply in native markets. The tradition of complacency “nothing will happen” wants to present technique to a tradition of warning. Equally necessary is group consciousness. Neighbours typically function the primary responders in Kashmir’s mohallas, educating total localities about emergency steps, helpline numbers, and fundamental fire-safety responses can considerably scale back fatalities. Winter in Kashmir is unforgiving, however tragedies needn’t be inevitable. As the Valley braces itself for months of chilly, heat have to be sought with mindfulness. Safety, in spite of everything, is the primary and most important shelter we owe ourselves and our households.
