Introduction

Soon after India became an independent nation, the surging crowds at the festivals, fairs, religious processions, election meetings etc. have posed challenging problems of crowd management before the law-and-order machinery of the states. Often, the situation goes out of control resulting in fatal casualties. In the recent past, the painful deaths of many devotees coming to take a holy dip in the waters at Sangam in Prayagraj and subsequent crushing to death of a large number of passengers at the New Delhi Railway Station have once again brought into focus this issue of crowd management into public focus which has riled the administrative and police authorities for long. In the year 2024, a ghastly incident at a religious congregation at Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh and the deaths of devotees at Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh in the beginning of 2025, shook the conscience of the nation to the core. The problem is not confined to deaths only. Almost everywhere, the people in the crowd roam here and there and from pillar to post to find out their kith and kin whose bodies could not be found in the mortuaries of the government hospitals. Besides that, the plight of missing persons continues till their return to their folks. Sometimes this exercise seems to be never-ending. Even the administrative authorities are not of much help. Here, it may be said in this context that the religious congregations come at the top of such deadly stampedes in India where people are driven by their impeccable faith in either God or so-called godmen. This is also certain that in the matter of faith, nobody or system can't do anything. This is purely a personal matter. They also throng in large numbers to have a look at the celebrities whom they confer celebrity status including film stars and political leaders. Every year India's population scales new heights. Therefore, none should expect the thinning crowd at such events. The only option left with us is to control the crowd by managing it properly. From a bare perusal of the causes of such tragic incidents, one thing emerges clearly-that the crowd management strategies followed by the authorities leave much to be desired and need intensive and technology-driven initiatives in this regard. The worn-out and stale crowd control practices have outlived their utility long back. In this regard, the National Guide on Crowd Management, 2014, formulated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, is a major step in the right direction.

The NDMA Guidelines of 2014

This is a Guide for State Government, Local Authorities, Administrators and Organizers involved in the task of crowd management throughout India.

This 95 pages guidebook encompasses almost every aspect of crowd management including planning for crowd management strategy and arrangements, information management and dissemination, safety and security measures, transportation and traffic management, execution of plan, role of media, contemporary ICT issues, legal provisions and capacity building. It has also enumerated the different legal enactments applicable in States. Thus, apparently, this Guide is an in-depth exploration of the various dimensions of crowd management. Only it needs to be revised from time to time in the changing times.

Some Prominent Examples of Crowd Mismanagement in the Past

Despite the above-mentioned Guidelines issued by the NDMA in 2014, the failure to manage crowds at different places have resulted in fatal incidents and several persons have gone missing. Some of such incidents can be enumerated below:

1. Hathras Stampede

In July 2024, lakhs of devotees assembled at the celebration ground which was surrounded by agricultural fields at Hathras district in U.P. After the religious discourse of the head of a particular religious denomination, the devotees ran towards the Babaji to touch his feet and take the dust off his feet. However, he drove away from the scene but in the process reportedly 121 persons were trampled to death and several went missing. The police force was scarce, and the crowd management was largely confined to voluntary workers comprising the team of holyman's outfit. The police didn't make enough arrangements of police personnel in the ratio of the expected crowd. A judicial enquiry was instituted by the government of U.P. to find out the causes of the incident and to suggest ameliorative measures.

2. Stampede at Tirupati temple

In the beginning of the second week of January 2025, a stampede broke out at Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadashi in which at least six persons were killed and dozens injured. According to BR Naidu, chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, which manages the affairs of the temple, the stampede was triggered when the gate was opened to let out a woman who was feeling uneasy, but the thronging devotees pushed in all in a jiffy. The usual evening crowd had returned, except for a dozen police personnel stationed at the iron gate, the site of the stampede. The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered an enquiry into the incident. Once again, the paucity of police force came handy in getting the situation murkier.1

3. The Tragedy at Maha Kumbh 2025

On the night of 29/30 January on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, a ghastly stampede happened inside the Mela campus in which 30 persons are reported to be dead and about 18 seriously injured. Though a judicial enquiry is in progress about the happening of the incident, media reports suggest that the crowd swelled at one point which was near the Sangam and the crowd gatecrashed the police barriers. The crowd was allowed to use only one way for ingress and egress inside the mela area. No other way was opened for this purpose. As a result, the crowd became uncontrollable, and the people had to suffer loss of several lives in the ensuing stampede. The police force on that spot proved meagre as compared to the emerging crowd being in a hurry to take bath on that auspicious occasion.

However, this was not the first Kumbh to be affected by the tragedy, there were others too in the list. For example,

1. 800 people also died in the then Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, now Prayagraj in 1954 on Mauni Amavasya day. February 3. That is biggest loss of human lives in the Kumbh Melas till date. The mishap occurred due to a fierce stampede in which injuries took place to around 2,000 people. During this time, people came in front of the processions of Naga ascetics resulting in a stampede. Visits of the VVIPs also added fuel to the fire. After the incident, the entry of the VIPs was banned during peak days in the successive Kumbh Melas.
2. Similarly, in 1986 Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, now in Uttarakhand, the stampede claimed around 200 lives. The incidence happened when the then Chief Minister of U.P., Vir Bahadur Singh arrived in Haridwar along with several chief ministers and Members of Parliament from various Staes. The security staff restricted the access of common people to the riverbanks. As a result, the crowd became restless and turned uncontrollable, leading to the deadly stampede.
3. In 2003, a stampede in Maharashtra's Nashik Kumbh Mela resulted in the death of around 39 people including women. More than 100 people sustained injuries. The devotees had gathered there to take a holy dip in the river Godavari.
4. In the 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj a heart-wrenching tragedy occurred on the day of Mauni Amavasya, not within the mela site but at Prayagraj railway station in which 42 people died in the stampede. The pressure of the crowd on the Smith Road foot overbridge on platform 6 of Allahabad junction (now Prayagraj junction) increased to uncontrollable levels resulting in the deadly incident. Another 46 pilgrims were also injured in the stampede.
5. Stampede at Delhi Railway Station: On February 16, 2025, a brutal stampede took a toll of 18 people at the New Delhi railway station. Several people were injured. The incident took place when more than seven thousand people were waiting on platforms 14 and 15 to catch Prayagraj bound trains. At about 9.45 pm in the night, the arrival of a special Prayagraj bound train was announced on platform 12 which started a mad rush towards that direction resulting in a deadly stampede. Moreover, a large number of tickets sold before the tragic incident also aggravated the situation. An enquiry has been ordered by the Railway ministry to unfold the truth behind the accident.

Visible Reasons Behind the Stampedes

1. VIP visits

During Kumbh Melas, visits of VIPs and celebrities is a common phenomenon and undoubtedly, it attracts public attention to a great extent. As a consequence, the normal routine of the pilgrim's flow towards the bathing points is disturbed and law & order situation emerges. Police personnel try to control the situation by the use of force which further aggravates the situation. Though after the first Kumbh mela at Allahabad in 1954, the government banned entry of VIPs and other celebrities on the important dates of Kumbh, the enforcement of this provision on the field in the strictest sense is still lacking.

2. No Separate Routes for Entering and Exiting for the Devotees

In most cases, it has been observed that no separate routes were provided by the Mela authorities for the pilgrims to reach the bathing points and return back to mela site. Seeing the huge number of devotees, the load on a single pathway becomes increasingly unbearable. That creates the confusing situation leading to stampedes. In the present Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj, it was one of the crucial reasons for the stampede.

3. Lack of Futuristic Planning

Generally, it is seen that an estimation of the number of people, expected to reach the destined place, is done casually without any futuristic planning. The database is limited and there is hardly any management information system (MIS) developed on the scientific lines. A lot of other logistics has to be taken into account before preparing a blueprint for successfully organizing any such event on a large scale.

4. No Provision of More Than One Exit Points

In almost all such big events of any hue or nature, generally one exit point is provided for the visitors which results in rushing of the crowd after the meeting, programme or the event is over leading to terrible stampedes.

5. Lack of Electronic Devices for Better Crowd Control

The installation of CCTV cameras in sufficient numbers is hardly done except in few cases. Besides that, the use of latest scientific techniques like Artificial Intelligence is yet to take off in a big scale.

6. Implementation of NDMA Guidelines is Lacking in Practice

Though the NDMA guidelines of 2014 are exhaustive ones, yet its implementation on the ground level leaves much to be desired.

Conclusion

In India, mass gatherings on account of religious, political, cultural and social grounds is a common phenomenon. This is also true at the same time that the tragic incidents of stampedes resulting in deaths and injuries do happen intermittently. The main reason for this is the lack of foreplaning in detail taking into account all the possible factors related to the function. Generally, deployment of few police personnel to control the crowd is done in the name of crowd management. No visible effort is made to install CCTV cameras and other electronic devices is made to help visualize the exact reasons for any mishap during the event. This casual attitude of the organizers adversely affects the people present at that particular event. Even the futuristic projection of the expected guests is not done on any reasonable and logical basis. Further, separate entry and exit points as far as possible must be provided to ease the traffic of the guests before and after the event. The proper use of Artificial Intelligence can immensely help in finding out the solutions for many issues related to crowd management. The ban on the presence of VIPs and other celebrities on the important dates of Kumbh and other religious gatherings must be ensured at any cost. It should also be ensured that there should be separate routes for coming and returning back for the pilgrims. On the railway stations, a separate holding place should be provided outside the station for the passengers to wait for their respective trains. The last-minute change of platforms should be avoided in order to accelerate the mad rush. Moreover, a proportion must be maintained in selling of train tickets. Presently, it is being done without any logical or logistical basis. One more important factor is seemingly non-accountability of the senior officers. It is a common phenomenon that during big occasions, the senior and experienced officers are nowhere to be scene on the site of the event or congregations. This appears to be an attitudinal problem which needs urgent course correction. Lastly, the NDMA guidelines must be followed by all the government departments, and they should also ensure their compliance in case of private organizers also. No doubt, challenge demands tough action and full determination, but it should be taken in the interest of common public who deserve a chance to live life as usual.

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Reference:

• Rahul V Pisharody & Sreenivas Janyala, Six killed, dozens injured in stampede over Tirupati tokens, The Indian Express, Jan 9, 2025.