Laxity may have caused stampede

But at the scene of the stampede, there are three versions doing the rounds on what could have happened to spark the tragedy. The truth may perhaps never be known though the Kerala government has ordered a judicial probe into the incident.
According to the Idukki district collector’s version submitted as a report to the government, there was a “mass descent of pilgrims” after witnessing the celestial “Makara Vilakku” (the light that appears every year on the hill adjoining the shrine as though to mark the “Makara Sankranti” or the summer solstice).

The impact of the “army of pilgrims” advancing through the narrow path caused a jeep on the way to move and hit an adjacent autorickshaw. Later, both vehicles overturned above the pilgrims. Some pilgrims were crushed underneath and, as an effort was made to pull up the vehicle, more pilgrims were hit and a stampede followed.

Another claim, this time from the forest department, said there was an altercation between the drivers of the overcrowded jeep and the autorickshaw that ultimately led to the tragedy. The jeep had hit some pilgrims who in turn smashed the glasses of the two vehicles leading to clashes and the resultant stampede.

A third version, from the locals, is that the forest officials had failed to remove a long chain on the pathway to stop vehicles from crossing over. Pilgrims, descending from the hill, did not see it in the darkness and tripped, triggering a stampede.
The vehicles were parked in a mindless manner because only a handful of policemen were on duty to control the crowd.

But what is more than evident is that the tragedy was caused by overcrowding at Pulmedu on Friday evening. Reports say that three lakh people had converged on the place to view the “Makara Vilakku” because of the place’s vantage position. This number was about 1.5 lakhs last year and the authorities had failed to take note of the increase in the number of pilgrims. Though the Pulmedu route is being used by pilgrims for ages, the area has never been sufficiently covered by security and crowd management plans by the authorities.

On days when there is heavy rush, the entire focus of the authorities, including the police and the National Disaster Response Force, tended to shift to  the Sannidhanam-Pampa route used by over 90 per cent of the pilgrims.

Forest authorities  are believed to have brought these lapses to the notice of higher-ups at review meetings attended by senior police and government officials and even ministers.

It has frequently been brought to the notice of the police that vehicles should not be allowed to enter the area, a reserve forest region.Allowing vehicles into this area is illegal not only during the pilgrim season but also any time of the year as it poses a threat to the fragile ecosystem of the area, sources said, according to an agency report.
On Friday when tragedy struck, only a few members of the Forest Protection Council and about 30 policemen from the local police station were present to cope with the situation.
Of the 102 dead pilgrims, 33 were from Karnataka, 31 from Tamil Nadu, five from Kerala, 20 from Andhra Pradesh, two from Puducherry and one from Sri Lanka. Eight bodies were yet to be identified.

The bodies of the victims were taken in ambulances to their native places accompanied by revenue officials. The state government would meet the flight and road transport expenses for ferrying the bodies of victims to their home towns.

Reports say a dozen pilgrims are missing and policemen and volunteers have been combing the forests for possible survivors. Doctors say the victims succumbed to suffocation, heavy blows and blood-clotting.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who reached  the spot by helicopter to take stock of the situation with his cabinet colleagues, announced a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Kerala High Court and a relief of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the victims. The seriously injured would be given Rs 50,000 and those with minor injuries Rs 25,000 each.

The Kerala government had declared a public holiday on Saturday to grieve the loss of human lives. Official mourning has also been declared for three days.