EDITORIAL
Frequent stampedes point to failure to put in place effective crowd control mechanism
“It’s not a mistake to make a mistake, but it is a mistake to repeat the mistake!” This proverb may be very simple to understand, but very difficult to follow, and that is because repeating the same mistake over and over again is a second nature to humans. Although it is expected that one should learn from the mistake, it is often observed that one mostly fails to learn from the past errors. Psychology explains this tendency with various reasons including one not wanting to change the pattern or doesn’t knowing how to change it. However, the most important ground for this tendency happens to be lethargy. Unfortunately, sometimes the cost of repeating the mistake is too high.
The Tuesday tragedy wherein at least eight people have been killed in a stampede that took place during prayers at the Sheetla Mata Temple in Bihar’s Nalanda district, is umpteenth such incident linked to the religious celebrations. The devotees from Nalanda and neighbouring districts had gathered at the particular temple in Maghra village to offer the regular Tuesday prayers when the mishap happened. Locals have alleged that there were no proper security arrangements at the temple to control the crowd. If a stock is taken of many similar calamities in the past, it becomes obvious that the respective temple managements had failed to provide an effective crowd control mechanism.
As a reactionary measure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured, while the state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 6 lakh to the families of the victims. The district administration, on its part, has closed the temple to tackle the situation, while the Bihar Chief Secretary has been instructed to initiate a probe into the incident and submit a report to the government. The condolence messages are also pouring from around the country. However, the loss to the families of the victims of this tragedy is irreparable.
Goa too witnessed a tragic stampede – first of its kind in the state – at the Shree Lairai Devi Temple in Shirgao, last summer, during the annual Jatra festival, killing at least seven people and injuring over 80 others. The incident had occurred around 4 am-5 am, due to overcrowding and a broken rope barricade during the traditional fire-walking ritual. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant subsequently ordered a magisterial inquiry, as also transferred five top officials, including the North Goa District Collector and SP North, to ensure a fair investigation.
The Fact-Finding Inquiry Committee (FFIC), constituted to investigate the Shirgao stampede, recommended that the government dissolve the Shree Lairai temple management committee, while observing that the incident was entirely preventable. It also deduced that the stampede was caused by poor crowd management, inadequate infrastructure and ignored directives. Right from the 1954 Prayag Kumbh Mela stampede to the crowd crush that occurred in Bengaluru, last June during the celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden Indian Premier League title win, every such crowd collapse had resulted from similar reasons.
The most important aspect for preventing a stampede is comprehensive crowd management. The use of modern technology like CCTV/AI for real-time crowd density monitoring is also very helpful. Furthermore, discipline and patience on the part of every individual in the crowd is important. A full stop can be put to the end of precious lives in a stampede only through preventive measures and nothing else!
