Editorial: Mahakumbh sees yet another tragedy

Though overcrowding is common in India, the world’s most populous country, crowd management is rarely a top priority for governments

India has a mob problem. The glaring gaps in crowd management and safety systems get exposed with unfailing regularity. The recent stampede at New Delhi railway station, the second Kumbh-related tragedy in less than three weeks, came as yet another grim reminder of the lurking dangers due to unregulated mass gatherings and administrative lapses. At least 18 people were killed and several injured at the railway station in a tragedy that was completely avoidable. A virtual sea of humanity travelling for a Kumbh dip was waiting for a special train to take them to Prayagraj. But, a sudden platform-change announcement triggered panic leading to a stampede. Clearly, there were administrative lapses that needed to be probed thoroughly and the responsibility fixed. The railway authorities should have anticipated the huge rush, considering that the mega festival is going to conclude later this month. Though overcrowding is common in the world’s most populous country, crowd management is rarely a top priority for governments. The response is mostly reactive, not proactive. Stampedes can be averted or minimised if the basics are followed religiously. Adequate deployment of security personnel to regulate crowd movement and meticulous planning of the arrangements are prerequisites to prevent untoward incidents. Last month, a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj left over 30 people dead. The two back-to-back tragedies must serve as eye-openers for the authorities engaged in drawing up extensive plans for the safety of Kumbh devotees.

These incidents should lead to a hard reckoning on what went wrong. It is common knowledge that railway stations and bus depots record higher than usual footfall during the pilgrimage season. Like their colleagues at venues of religious gatherings, officials at these transport hubs should be alert to anything that can trigger panic. Apparently, the authorities at the New Delhi Railway Station were caught off guard. The inquiry should not only pinpoint the immediate trigger or cause of the commotion, it must also fix accountability for the failures that led to the horrific stampede. In 2013, a study published in the International Journal of Stampede Reduction pointed out that religious gatherings and pilgrimages account for nearly 80% of the stampedes in the country. A stampede at Prayagraj Railway Station during Kumbh in 2013 claimed 42 lives. About a year later, the National Disaster Management Authority issued detailed guidelines on crowd management for State governments, local authorities and organisers. It laid stress on lending professionalism to the entire process with an integrated and structured approach. Experts have advocated the use of technology, including drones, to help law enforcers and event organisers monitor crowd density and swiftly identify any source of pressure or disturbance. The recent tragedies highlight the need to scale up the deployment of state-of-the-art crowd control methods at pilgrimage sites as well as at transit junctions for devotees.

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