It is a fact that, as individuals, adhering to rules and regulations does not always come naturally to us. We urgently need better policies to address incidents like stampedes, and the administration must wake up to this pressing necessity. A report by Mithun Dey
In the beginning of the New Year, at least 6 killed and over 32 seriously injured in a stampede during ticketing for special darshan in Tirupati temple of Andhra Pradesh on January 8, 2025 which reminds me of a stampede occurred at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu & Kashmir that left 12 dead and 16 injured just hours after midnight on New Year’s Day in 2022. India is arguably the nation with a tragic number of stampedes and resultant injuries and fatalities.
It is seen that human stampedes in India mainly often take place in religious pilgrimages, occupational sporting and melodic or cultural events. Stampedes also often come about in times of mass panic, consequent to fire break-out or explosion, as people try to escape from the spot.
In most of the cases, it is also seen that the authorities let massive gatherings take place without conducting a survey of the grounds, putting up barriers to control the movement of the crowd or having the local police follow the necessary procedure in such events. It appears that the temple could only be accessed through a narrow lane. In a short span of time, thousands of devotees flock into the alley. With no one to monitor the crowd, chaos ensued and one of the gates collapsed, trapping people beneath it. As the devotees rushed to leave the temple in a panic, a stampede occurred. Poor preparation and unclear roles for authorities and organizers can escalate crowd chaos.
One more important gap in the arrangements is the absence of ambulances or medical support in case of an emergency. Whenever there is a mass religious gathering which might result in law and order problems, the organizers are likely to inform the authorities prior to the juncture and get permission to persist.
Inattention on the part of authorities leads to many such disasters. Most of the time, the people accountable go with impunity. One prays that justice is done to the victims in this matter.
As we are all aware that the key reason behind stampedes is overcrowding, there must be a no tolerance policy with the SOP (standard operating procedure) to organize for an event. The government or local authorities must appoint an officer to visit and check the location and the availability of space and other mandatory measures and make sure the required arrangements could fit for the visitors. Also an emergency protocol, mandate emergency vehicles like ambulance and patrol units should be appointed to assist if such an incident occurs.
Not merely so. Before attending an event, research the venue’s layout and emergency exits. Follow the safety guidelines provided by event organizers. During the meeting of event, space and time there may be a sudden sharp peak of crowd. Regulating the rate at which the crowd builds up can be achieved through controlling crowd flow at the entry and exit points. If the flow is continuous, monitoring the flow and keeping a check on how it is being exceeded is difficult. A system can be created whereby people can be allowed in fixed batches. As balancing is important, every stage of flow should roughly take an equal amount of time to negotiate, or there will be queues building up at some stages, which will become bottlenecks.
Also, properly designed events with clear entry and exit points, sufficient space, and designated areas should be under minimal congestion. The authorities should appoint trained crowd management staff to monitor crowd behavior and respond to potential issues.
Truly, it is a matter of shame for the Indians that while India, being one of the largest religious countries in the world, often such incidence takes place here. In a country like India, the miserable story is that the administration treats the common citizen as infamy; the ordinary earns no decorum and is convicted to the law of the jungle.
It is also a fact that, as individuals, adhering to rules and regulations does not always come naturally to us. Therefore, it is evident that we require guidance and control. Is it too much to expect wardens or policemen at incident sites to steer and assist crowds effectively? It would be unreasonable to claim that the nation cannot afford such measures. We urgently need better policies to address incidents like stampedes, and the administration must wake up to this pressing necessity.
