Stampedes:  No lessons learnt from past

A total of 114 lives have been lost in these stampedes, a phenomena that experts say is avoidable with more caution and efficient management.

Yesterday’s tragedy occured  as devotees crowded into the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in the city of Srikakulam on Ekadashi, a day Hindus consider auspicious.

It is reported that 25,000 devotees had crowded into the temple, which has the capacity to accommodate around 2000 people.

The massive gathering of devotees led to chaos and panic. It was a disturbing site of bodies of victims, run over by the panicky crowds, strewn on the ground.

According to media reports, construction work was underway in the area where the stampede occurred, and there was only one entry-exit point, which was quite in violation of security norms. Though the temple is privately managed, and some reports quoting “sources” said the management had not informed the government of the event, but this does not absolve the administration of their responsibility, since it is an annual event.

Last year’s stampede in Hathras town of UP tells the same story–allowing crowd into a place much more against its capacity. This stampede that happened at a ‘satsang’ or religious congregation  of self-styled godman Bhole Baba, had claimed 121 lives, mostly women and children.

In fact,  2024 was the deadliest year in recent years as regards deaths in stampede as a total of 123 lives were lost in various such tragedies that occurred that year, with lack of crowd management being the main reason,

According to some media report, the Hathras tragedy happened as the followers of the Baba rushed to touch his feet and collect the soil from the place he walked through, while other reports said chaos and confusion followed as people tried to move out of the pandal amid the humid conditions while others tried to push them back.

The judicial commission that probed into the tragedy held the event organisers primarily held responsible for the stampede.

It found serious lapses by the local administration and Uttar Pradesh police in crowd management and enforcement of security measures.

After every such tragedy, inquiry commissions are appointed and their reports submitted to the governments concerned, but then it seems no lesson is learnt for future events.