Stampedes happen so often in India that we seem to be growing accustomed to grieving over the loss, granting solatium to the kin of the deceased and the injured and appointing “high-level” inquiry panels, ostensibly to find out the reasons for the tragedy. The stark truth is we tend to treat people like cattle at any major congregation, be it at a political rally, temple festival or a celebration of Dussehra, as in the case of the latest incident in Patna. Our crowd control methods are more suited to cowboys herding a bovine array.
For instance, the four-entrance Gandhi Maidan was said to have had two gates blocked for so-called VIP security. There were no lights either in the passages through which around 70,000 people were supposed to safely exit the venue at dusk after the festivities.
The callousness with which common people are treated should put them off visiting events attended by VIPs. But then, an event like the “Ravan Vadh” is about getting people in to enjoy the spectacle rather than politicians rushing to show their faces wherever there is a group of people who represent a votebank.
Crowd-control measures, such as policemen and volunteers equipped with hailers, proper lighting systems that do not compromise electrical safety, and clear signs to exits are the minimum arrangements expected at huge congregations. By Indian standards, 70,000 is a small crowd. That the state was unable to provide safety in the heart of the capital even for them is an index of the high degree of uncaring administration.
