DC Edit | Learn To Control Crowds Better

It is only a coincidence that back to back incidents of stampedes claimed as many as 10 lives and injured dozens of people on Sunday and Monday; they are waiting to happen at any and every place where people congregate in India, thanks to the lethargy and total lack of people control measures by the authorities concerned.

The stampede that claimed eight lives at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar on Sunday was caused by a rush of pilgrims along a stair route leading to the temple while the one that ended two lives at Avshaaneshwar Mahadev temple in Barabanki on Monday was triggered by the panic after a live power line breaking.

Such incidents happen in India every year with alarming regularity. It was not very long ago that stampedes claimed several lives in Bengaluru while people were celebrating an IPL victory or at the Delhi railway station or at Tirupati temple.

It is not that the government authorities and the event/festival organisers were caught unawares by events leading to the loss of lives; it is their lethargy that turns such events into a tragedy instead. The Mahakumbh this year has proved that a congregation of crores of people can be conducted with no loss of life. There indeed was an instance of a tent catching fire. Normally, it could have resulted not only in the spread of fire but also of a killer panic. But the preparedness was foolproof and there was no report of loss of life.

It may also be remembered that a blast at a religious meeting in Kalamasserry in Kerala last year claimed eight lives but all of them were the direct victims of the blast; not one was due to stampede caused by panic running. Reports had said there was a drill on every day of the congregation on how to behave in case of an emergency and how to avoid a stampede.

Respect for human lives and proper preparedness can indeed save lives. It is time that the government and law-enforcement agencies rise to the challenge.