Opinion Express View: Tragedy at Maha Kumbh

The suffering of the people who lost their dear ones in the tragedy on Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj on Wednesday is heartrending. The lives of at least 30 devotees were snuffed out and more than 60 were injured in a pre-dawn stampede on Mauni Amavasya, the biggest bathing day of the mela. There are fears that the toll could rise. Officials have blamed the incident on people breaking barricades in the rush for a dip in the holy waters on the auspicious occasion. A wave of pilgrims heading towards the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, reportedly crashed into those on their way back after the ritual bath. In the chaos, a section of the crowd jumped queues, broke columns and trampled over devotees resting near the Sangam. The UP government delayed declaring the death toll until Wednesday evening. It has ordered an inquiry. That should throw more light on what went wrong. One thing, though, is clear: Crowd management at Kumbh, which UP governments have, with reason, been always proud of, needs a harder look. The UP government had, by all accounts, made elaborate plans for the smooth conduct of the Kumbh. Its publicity drives played a big role in the surge of visitors. Attendance almost always swells beyond the estimates drawn up by administrators. These events test even the most well-drawn-out plan. Large crowds are known to be susceptible to panic-inducing triggers. Administrators and law enforcers must, therefore, be constantly on the vigil for any sign of anxiety.

More than 10 crore people took the ritual bath Wednesday. Attendance of this magnitude tests the capacities of administrators. From declaring the Maha Kumbh area in Prayagraj as no-vehicle and no-VIP zone to preparing a plan to avoid any security issues, the UP government put in place elaborate arrangements for the Mauni Amavasya. It has drawn criticism for giving precedence to VIPs, photo ops and public relations. The Kumbh Mela has always been a place where politicians and celebrities rub shoulders with the mendicants and common devotees. Social media amplifies each pilgrim’s progress. Clearly, authorities must act decisively and lose no time in ensuring that the crowd keeps moving – emotions such as fear, anxiety, excitement and anger can spread when people linger in one spot in a high-density area.

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Three more shahi snans are scheduled at the Kumbh over the next four weeks. The UP government needs to quickly find out what defeated its plans on Wednesday. The inquiry into the tragedy has to be fast-tracked. If need be, the government should deploy more personnel on the ground, bolster technology aids such as drones or even take from the country’s top institutions to sync crowd management with real-time data. This isn’t about politics or optics. The investigation and the subsequent action taken must be fair and transparent. The best way to pay tribute to those who lost their lives Wednesday is to ensure that others don’t.