Mains Practice Questions

Introduction:

A stampede is an impulsive mass movement of a crowd leading to injuries and deaths, often triggered by panic, loss of space, or the urge to attain something gratifying. It represents a preventable public safety disaster, commonly seen during religious festivals, political rallies, or sporting events, reflecting deep failures in crowd management, governance, and enforcement mechanisms.

Body:

Inadequate Planning

• Underestimated Crowd Size: The Karur, Tamil Nadu, political rally (Sept 2025) killed 39 people as attendance far exceeded planned capacity, overwhelming infrastructure and exit routes.
  • Similar lapses at Chinnaswamy Stadium (RCB IPL victory parade) caused 11 deaths, exposing dangers of ticket overselling and lack of simulation exercises.
• Infrastructure Shortcomings: Stampedes at the Mansa Devi Temple (July 2025) and Maha Kumbh Mela (Jan 2025) revealed poor crowd flow planning, crumbling pedestrian paths, and insufficient facilities like toilets and resting zones, endangering participants during peak gatherings.

Lack of Accountability

• Blame-shifting Post-Tragedy: After the Mansa Devi stampede, officials blamed rumors, weak infrastructure, and each other’s inaction, showing absence of clear guidelines and shared responsibility.
  • Similarly, in Karur, both political organizers and local police failed to conduct crowd density checks or emergency drills.
• Absence of Safety Audits: Safety audits at temples and stadiums are rare and mostly post-tragedy measures.
  • Recommendations like separate entry–exit points and attendance limits are reactively implemented, not proactively enforced.

Weak Enforcement :

• Non-Enforcement of Guidelines: NDMA crowd management guidelines prescribing contingency planning and attendance limits are often ignored.
  • Events like the Kumbh Mela (2025) and Shirgao Temple festivals allegedly breached sanctioned capacities, resulting in fatal stampedes.
• Poor Communication and Absence of Technology: In the Pushpa 2 film screening (Dec 2024), inadequate public address systems and lack of real-time surveillance (CCTV, drones) triggered panic and misinformation, worsening casualties.

Inadequate Planning

↓

Poor Crowd Estimation → Overcrowding → Panic

↓

Weak Infrastructure → Blocked Exits → Injuries/Deaths

↓

Lack of Accountability → Blame-Shifting & Delays

↓

Weak Enforcement → Non-Compliance with Safety Norms

Way Forward for Preventing Future Tragedies

• Strengthened Pre-Event Planning: Accurate crowd estimation and capacity planning, along with safe site selection and scientific layout design, are crucial to ensure safety.
  • Mandatory crowd capacity certification by engineers and disaster experts.
  • Events must have clearly demarcated entry, exit, and movement routes that remain unobstructed, supported by contingency arrangements and risk assessment drills to effectively prevent stampedes.
  • Deploy a network of sensors (thermal, LiDAR) to monitor crowd density in real-time.
    • This data can feed into AI models to predict crowd surges and trigger early warnings.
• Legal and Administrative Accountability:
  • Enact a Crowd Safety Act clearly defining organizer liability for negligence.
    • Mandate independent safety audits for large gatherings and establish a national stampede database to systematically record incidents, causes, and lessons learned, enabling evidence-based preventive measures.
  • Making violations of safety norms punishable under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• Integrated Institutional Mechanisms:
  • Formation of Crowd Management Cells at district levels for coordinated planning.
  • Regular mock drills and safety audits before mass gatherings.
  • Provide on-site medical aid, deploy Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) for emergencies, and establish a clear Incident Command System for swift decision-making.
• Public Awareness and Behavioural Training:
  • Dissemination of safety messages via local media and community leaders.
  • Deployment of trained volunteers and signage to guide crowd movement.

Conclusion:

Stampedes are not natural disasters but failures of governance and preparedness. Each tragedy underscores the need to institutionalize accountability, strengthen planning, and ensure strict enforcement of safety norms. With proactive crowd management, technological tools, and ethical governance, such preventable tragedies can be averted, turning India’s vibrant gatherings into symbols of safety and order rather than sorrow and neglect.