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Averting temple stampedes

The stampede at the Naina Devi shrine, in which at least 146 people were killed, is a tragic reminder of the urgency of establishing tough and comprehensive crowd management mechanisms at places of worship. Despite the recurrence of stampedes, particularly on festival days when large numbers of worshippers flock to temples, the Indian system has failed to put in place sensible safety measures. Last month’s stampede during the rath yatra festival in Puri was attributed to the virtual absence of crowd-control measures; the six who died were crushed when too many people tried to get too close to the chariot. In March, eight people were suffocated or crushed to death en route to a temple in a remote village in Madhya Pradesh. The tragedy at Naina Devi bears some similarities to the 2005 calamity at the Mandhardevi temple in Wai, Maharashtra, in which about 300 people were killed. Both temples are on hilltops and many victims were trampled to death in the steep and narrow path leading to them. While a fire seems to have sparked off the tragedy at Wai, the one in Himachal Pradesh is reported to have been precipitated by rumours of a landslide.

Stampedes are defined as acts of mass impulse in which the assembled run without clear purpose or direction. While the triggers for such collective panic may vary, studies show that most crowd disasters can be prevented by simple strategies aimed at averting the build-up of critical crowd densities and the triggering of rapid group movement. Reports suggest that the inadequate police force at the Himachal Pradesh shrine was caught up in caning people following the stampede rather than trying to bring some calm to the situation. Naina Devi has a history of landslides and one in 1880 destroyed the temple itself, killing 151 people. It is possible that the rumour of a landslide gained credence because of this history. The State government has announced it would introduce the Vaishno Devi model to regulate pilgrim movement in its major shrines. Here, the shrine board issues yatra slips limiting the number of pilgrims who can visit on any day. It is true that having fewer people in a vulnerable location reduces the risks of stampedes considerably. But it is also important to put in place a set of other measures to prevent such avoidable mishaps. These include delineating clear entry and exit routes, maintaining a strict vigil on the flow of people, having an effective public address system to quell panic, and deploying enough police personnel to monitor and control crowd movement. In addition, pilgrims must be educated on how to avoid safety hazards. There is no excuse for allowing even one more stampede to happen in a place of worship.

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