<p class="bodytext">There are different versions on what triggered the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday which killed at least 18 people, amid a rush of passengers headed to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh. Whichever version is true, official negligence and poor crowd management are among major factors that aggravated the tragedy. Just as those who were in charge of regulating the crowd in Prayagraj were responsible for the stampede on the Mauni Amavasya day, authorities in the Indian Railways are responsible for the mishap at the station. The Railways claims that the incident occurred after some of the passengers slipped and fell on others while walking down a foot overbridge. That makes it a chance event, and does not tell the full story. There were delays in train departures, a surge in ticket sales, and a last-minute announcement about change of platforms. The Railways should have anticipated the huge rush, had plans for different scenarios and taken precautionary and preventive measures.</p>.After Delhi stampede, several measures taken to avoid untoward incidents in future: Railways.<p class="bodytext">An inquiry into the incident has been ordered – it should be transparent and fix accountability for the lapses. Some questions remain: Why did the number of tickets sold exceed the trains’ capacity? Were there delays in the trains’ departure? Why was the platform change announced close to departures, creating confusion among the passengers? There are guidelines on traffic and crowd control at railway stations and bus stations that are also aimed at coordinated management of large crowds headed to festivals or religious congregations. These guidelines cover all possibilities of accidents. If they are followed promptly, most mishaps can be avoided. Technology is extensively used at the Kumbh site. It should also be employed at other locations associated with the Kumbh. The New Delhi stampede could be traced to the systemic failure which also caused the stampede at the Kumbh site.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is unfortunate that there is an official policy of denial and misrepresentation in the case of incidents such as stampedes. The toll is usually downplayed and the circumstances are not correctly stated. This prevents a proper analysis of the situation and allows guilty people to escape accountability; furthermore, this prevents learnings that could help avoid similar incidents in the future. The exact death toll in last month’s stampede is still not known. There is an attempted cover-up and conspiracy theories are being aired even before the investigators have made any conclusions. In the case of Saturday’s stampede, the Delhi Lt Governor changed his version of the incident in minutes and dropped the word “stampede” from his comment. There are a few more days left for the Kumbh to conclude and the Delhi stampede is yet another reminder of the need for utmost vigil.</p>
<p class="bodytext">There are different versions on what triggered the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday which killed at least 18 people, amid a rush of passengers headed to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh. Whichever version is true, official negligence and poor crowd management are among major factors that aggravated the tragedy. Just as those who were in charge of regulating the crowd in Prayagraj were responsible for the stampede on the Mauni Amavasya day, authorities in the Indian Railways are responsible for the mishap at the station. The Railways claims that the incident occurred after some of the passengers slipped and fell on others while walking down a foot overbridge. That makes it a chance event, and does not tell the full story. There were delays in train departures, a surge in ticket sales, and a last-minute announcement about change of platforms. The Railways should have anticipated the huge rush, had plans for different scenarios and taken precautionary and preventive measures.</p>.After Delhi stampede, several measures taken to avoid untoward incidents in future: Railways.<p class="bodytext">An inquiry into the incident has been ordered – it should be transparent and fix accountability for the lapses. Some questions remain: Why did the number of tickets sold exceed the trains’ capacity? Were there delays in the trains’ departure? Why was the platform change announced close to departures, creating confusion among the passengers? There are guidelines on traffic and crowd control at railway stations and bus stations that are also aimed at coordinated management of large crowds headed to festivals or religious congregations. These guidelines cover all possibilities of accidents. If they are followed promptly, most mishaps can be avoided. Technology is extensively used at the Kumbh site. It should also be employed at other locations associated with the Kumbh. The New Delhi stampede could be traced to the systemic failure which also caused the stampede at the Kumbh site.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is unfortunate that there is an official policy of denial and misrepresentation in the case of incidents such as stampedes. The toll is usually downplayed and the circumstances are not correctly stated. This prevents a proper analysis of the situation and allows guilty people to escape accountability; furthermore, this prevents learnings that could help avoid similar incidents in the future. The exact death toll in last month’s stampede is still not known. There is an attempted cover-up and conspiracy theories are being aired even before the investigators have made any conclusions. In the case of Saturday’s stampede, the Delhi Lt Governor changed his version of the incident in minutes and dropped the word “stampede” from his comment. There are a few more days left for the Kumbh to conclude and the Delhi stampede is yet another reminder of the need for utmost vigil.</p>
