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Opinion Editorial
Published: October 7, 2014 00:25 IST | Updated: October 7, 2014
00:25 IST
Tragic toll of negligence
The notoriety that India seems to have acquired over the decades
for deadly stampedes, has once again been brought
into focus. It should be a no-brainer to state the importance of
efficient risk-mapping, crowd management and fool-proof security
arrangements wherever people congregate in large numbers in a
country of a billion-plus people. Yet,tragedy after deadly tragedy
at such venues, mostly at religious events, has become a continuing
story. The loss of 33lives in the latest stampede during Dasara
ceremonies at Patnas Gandhi Maidan is but one more in the
cavalcade.Given that it was an annual event that typically
attracted lakhs of people, the lack of preparedness on the part of
theadministrative machinery isprima facie clear. Some accounts
spoke of how, amazingly, only two of the 11 gates at thesprawling
public grounds were kept open as the crowd was dispersing. Dusk had
fallen and there was a power failure t
boot. Sections of the crowd seemingly panicked over rumours of a
snapped overhead power line. It was less than twoyears ago, during
Chhath Puja celebrations in another part of Patna, that 21 people
were killed in a stampede after amakeshift bridge collapsed. And it
was a year ago, in October 2013, that a stampede in Madhya Pradesh
left more than110 people dead.
Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had just left after
watching the epic re-enactment of the triumph of good over
evil when the stampede occurred, was insensitive enough to tell
a television channel that the crowds were also to blamfor such
incidents. Surprisingly, the Chief Minister went on to
say,post-facto, that there should be more entry and expoints in the
ground. Such imprudence apart, the spate of statements that have
come from the political class over the
weekend has shown nothing but a proclivity to indulge in a
blame-game. That will hardly serve the public interest.Given the
frequency of and the toll from such incidents, the Central
government should advise States to put in place amandatory security
protocol to handle all large-scale crowd situations. Disaster
preparedness has in recent yearsemerged as an area of priority, but
in the case of known danger zones there does not seem to be a
matching realisationthat security arrangements to pre-empt
tragedies are essential. Managing and regulating large crowds and
avoidingovercrowding should be key elements of the strategy.
Effective communication and security systems should serve toensure
that panic does not lead to uncontrolled crowd surges. In the
process of facilitating VVIP movement, the safetyof the common
person should not get short shrift. The nation cannot afford to go
from one tragedy to another withlessons not learnt, and
accountability not fixed.
Keywords: Patna Dussehra stampede, Patna Gandhi Maidan stampede,
Jitan Ram Manji, Ram Leela
Printable version | Oct 7, 2014 11:04:12 AM |
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/tragic-toll-of-negligence/article6475916.ece
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