Editorial: Improper crowd management, a perpetual pain point for India's public spaces

In what appears to be a horror story whose toll seems to be unravelling even as this paper is being sent to print, as many as 116 people lost their lives, while several were injured in a stampede at a religious congregation in Hathras, UP on Tuesday. Per reports, devotees suffocated to death as bodies piled atop each other in the stampede – which is among the worst of such tragedies in recent years — that took place at a satsang in the district’s Phulrai village. With regard to India, such accidents are not a new occurrence, as we have witnessed hundreds of fatalities on account of stampedes at temples and religious gatherings over the years.

It might be recalled that in one of the deadliest accidents witnessed at a religious gathering in the country, over 340 devotees lost their lives in a stampede at Maharashtra’s Mandhardevi temple in 2005. Then in 2008, at least 250 were killed in an overcrowding mishap at Rajasthan’s Chamunda Devi temple. A similar man-made accident at a holy gathering at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh led to the loss of 162 lives in 2008. Closer home, in 2011, at least 104 Sabarimala devotees were killed and over 40 were injured in a stampede when a jeep crashed into homebound pilgrims at Pulmedu in Kerala’s Idukki district.

While the Inspector General of Police for the Aligarh Range had said that an FIR would be filed against the organisers of the event, the Uttar Pradesh government has confirmed hundreds of more devotees were present at the satsang than permitted by the administration. This raises questions regarding due diligence followed by law enforcement agencies, or rather negligence, when it comes to the conduct of such mass gatherings in the state. Apart from overcrowding, the officials also have to probe the angle of safety readiness at a congregation such as this. This includes the provision of multiple entry and exit points, availability of emergency medical personnel, first aid kits, ambulances, and fire safety personnel at the venue, as well as audio equipment to alert attendees in the event of a contingency.

There is also the issue of ascertaining whether a certain venue, no matter what the expanse or size, is indeed suitable for the conduct of large scale gatherings in an accident-free manner. This was a concern raised in the aftermath of the deaths of four youngsters during a cultural festival organised by Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) last November. Officials had then pointed out how entry to the open-air amphitheatre was through a single-gate, which led down to a dozen-odd stairs, which was ground zero for the stampede. Overcrowding led to the attendees pushing each other and many of them falling down the stairs and getting trampled.

Of course, engaging in a total recall detailing the overall casualties in such accidents for the last few decades while expressing anguish at the lives lost, and passing the buck seems to have become par for the course, as far as politicians, bureaucrats, and law enforcement officials are concerned. However, as most of us are sadly aware, this will certainly not be the last accident of its kind in India. Handicapped by an impotent law enforcement ecosystem and the acute absence of an audit mechanism that can ensure the safety of public spaces, we in India will be perpetually exposed to the vagaries of improper crowd management.