Tragedies during religious fairs can be avoided
Stampede deaths are tragic because they are preventable, but it seems that the government is committed to learn no lessons in crowd management.
INDIA IS one of the few countries in the world where hundreds of people die of stampedes in religious festivals and fairs apart from the deaths because of common causes like cancer, floods etc.The death of 150 people in Naina Devi shrine in August 2008 in Himachal Pradesh, death of almost same number of people after one month (September 2008) in Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and more recently death of 63 people mostly women and children at an Aashram in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh are just few examples.
People gathering (especially poor) in large numbers at religious places where food and gifts are distributed reflects the faith of people in God, but unfortunately it also silently unfolds the appalling state of poverty in our country. Such incidence reinforces the need for the Government to work towards eradicating poverty.
Stampede deaths are tragic because they are preventable, but it seems that the government is committed to learn no lessons in crowd management. They are more interested and confined to the activities like ordering high level probe into the incident, announcement of financial compensation, free medical treatment to the injured, so on and so forth. No doubt we people are equally responsible. We have never thought of precautionary measures. Our approach in most of the stampede cases is reactive and not proactive. Simple steps like granting permission to the organising committee after necessary verification like number and type of people with necessary details expected to come for gathering, arrangement made by the organising committee and then deploying Police Personnel and Quick Response teams could be fruitful. Crowd management teams and Disaster management teams can act as a catalyst in problem solving in case of any untoward incident. A disciplined behaviour from the devotees coupled with awareness about safety protocols, can be another added advantage.
The ashrams and temples in India have its own importance and are a great place of learning and as such, play a pivotal role in the shaping up of the society. These spiritual gurus are no doubt altruist and are treated as representatives of God. Needless to say, that they do a lot of charity and philanthropic work with emphasis on ethics, values and culture.
Neither government nor common masses have problems with such sadhus and their ashrams and why should anybody? But the recent involvement of some so called sadhus in sex scandals and heavy loss of life in their ashrams have definitely tarnished their image. Let us hope that in future such incidents will not be repeated and even if it happens, we should try to look for a sustainable solution instead of engaging in a blame game. No doubt the sadhus have to work hard to rebuild their lost image.
The ashrams and temples in India have its own importance and are a great place of learning and as such, play a pivotal role in the shaping up of the society. These spiritual gurus are no doubt altruist and are treated as representatives of God. Needless to say, that they do a lot of charity and philanthropic work with emphasis on ethics, values and culture.
Neither government nor common masses have problems with such sadhus and their ashrams and why should anybody? But the recent involvement of some so called sadhus in sex scandals and heavy loss of life in their ashrams have definitely tarnished their image. Let us hope that in future such incidents will not be repeated and even if it happens, we should try to look for a sustainable solution instead of engaging in a blame game. No doubt the sadhus have to work hard to rebuild their lost image.
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