BBC is reporting 14 women and three young girls hailing from low-income households died in Pakistan trying to get free flour. Just last week five young girls died in a stampede at a school in New Delhi.
Food and power shortages in Pakistan have brought the nation to its knees and have caused death and destruction for the most vulnerable.
In a matter of decades Pakistan has descended from being a rising economic power in the sixties to an almost bankrupt state and a fragmented society.
What is even worse is the fact that this occurred when a philanthropist was trying to distribute free flour to the needy. A good deed turned ugly because of lack of civic sense. The organizers turned off the power to disperse the huge crowd. With no light in the congested street, panic ensued soon and the results were catastrophic. Other reports state that the security guard baton charged women to force a queue that caused the stampede.
For additional coverage from Daily Dawn about other stampedes in Pakistan, please click HERE.
Source: Dawn.com, September 14, 2009
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