Kumbh stampede leaves painful lessons

The unfortunate incident of stampede at Prayagraj Maha Kumbh is a cause of concern for the whole nation. As per initial reports, more than a hundred million devotees had gathered in the Sangam area to take ‘amrit snan’ on the occasion of 'mauni amavasya'. The thread of faith and belief of the masses is so strong that everybody wants to take a holy dip at the nose point on this historic moment which has arrived after 144 years.

It is being reported that the mishap happened around 1 o'clock in the early morning hours, when some pilgrims tried to cross the barricades demarcating the path for the akharas to go for the traditional 'shahi snan'. It is a matter of satisfaction that normalcy was restored immediately and the rituals at the Sangam are going on.

Stampede during religious congregations has become almost a matter of routine in India. People take it in their stride as an act of God and the administrators also forget it after some initial jolts.

In January 2015, in a stampede at a temple in Andhra Pradesh, six devotees died in an attempt to get the free-visit passes; 121 people lost their lives at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh in their quest to get a closer glimpse of their religious guru; 115 pilgrims were killed and 100 others injured in a stampede at Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh during Navaratri celebrations in November 2023.

The Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh witnessed a stampede in February 2013, in which 36 devotees lost their lives; while jostling to get free food and clothing at a temple in Uttar Pradesh, 63 people died due to mismanagement; in September 2008, 250 pilgrims were trampled to death at Chamundagar temple in Rajasthan during the Navaratri festival; 145 devotees died after a rumour of a landslide triggered a stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh in August 2008; 265 people died at the Mandardevi temple in Wai town, Maharashtra, because of slippery steps in January 2005.

The list of such mishaps is endless. The recurrence of such human tragedies at regular intervals indicates that the system does not learn enough lessons to prevent them from happening in future.

Though it is not advisable to do a hasty post-mortem of such a human tragedy, there are some facts in the public domain which need to be discussed for preventing similar mishaps.

Such discussions become imperative in view of the fact that preparations for the Maha Kumbh started years before the event. Meticulous planning was done under the supervision of the Chief Minister of the state.

Pre-event assessment of the crowd as well as daily monitoring of the arrivals of the devotees during the Maha Kumbh is of utmost importance. The entry of the pilgrims in the Sangam area should have been regulated keeping in view the actual space available to accommodate them.

There should have been a mechanism in place, in coordination with police agencies of all states, to estimate the number of devotees likely to arrive at the Maha Kumbh on a daily basis. Restrictions, which were imposed on the movement of trains and buses carrying people to Prayagraj after the tragedy, should have been clamped much before the crowd swelled to full capacity.

It seems many devotees did not leave the area after taking a holy dip at the nose point and were occupying the space for days together, resulting in congestion. This would have been prevented by launching awareness campaigns and circulating advisories in advance, asking people to limit their stay at the Sangam area and vacate the space for the others.

There should have been deployment of force to ensure that the circulating and bathing areas were free from unnecessary squatting.

It is advisable to plan holding areas at all entry points to contain the crowds temporarily and release them in groups as per the space available on the bathing ghats. Waterways should have been planned for a quick exit of the pilgrims from the Sangam area. The entry and exit routes should have been separate to avoid traffic jam.

It would have been better if area-specific days for bathing were fixed and notified to people for the sake of their safety and security. The length and breadth of the bathing area should have been extended in advance. It is being done now, after the stampede. People are being advised to take a dip in the holy Ganga, wherever they get an opportunity in the Prayagraj area.

Ensuring shift-wise duty and proper rest to the members of the police force is equally important. It is being alleged in media reports that when the mishap occurred around

1 am, there was not enough deployment of force. Perhaps, the police were preparing for the long duty hours ahead.

When there is such a large gathering on a specific day, it is very difficult to carve out an exclusive VIP protection route. It is advisable to plan for the visits of VIPs on a day when comparatively, fewer devotees are there. The area and timings for the 'shahi snan' of the akharas need to be paid more attention and planned meticulously in consultation with them.

The quality of barricades and poles, etc suffers when the work is done on a large scale. It is better to have no barricading rather than having poor-quality barricading as it gives a false sense of security. Inspection of works, therefore, becomes important.

The stampede at the Maha Kumbh is another reminder to the state agencies that they should learn lessons from their past mistakes and improve their working to ensure public safety and security. The loss of human lives due to the negligence and apathy of state instrumentalities is deplorable.

Those responsible for the mismanagement should be held accountable.