Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Culture of risk: On safety and a mass gathering

Culture of risk: On safety and a mass gathering

The notion (विचार, धारणा) of a routinely planned mass gathering should be done away with

A day apart, two pilgrimages (तीर्थयात्रा) in North India have endured (सहन करना) chaos (अव्यवस्था, अराजकता). Eight people died on the steep stairway to Haridwar’s Mansa Devi shrine (धार्मिक स्थल, मंदिर, पवित्र स्थान) on July 27, 2025 after a rumour spread that a snapped ((suddenly) broken) power line was live (electrified, powered, connected, active, switched on). The next day, at Avsaaneshwar temple in Barabanki, monkeys reportedly (कथित तौर पर) damaged an overhead (suspended) cable, sparking (cause, lead to, bring about, give rise to) panic that killed two persons. Both incidents were triggered (cause, lead to, bring about, give rise to) by fears of electrocution (the injury/killing caused by electric shock). Such hazards (खतरा, जोखिम) at temples are not new: makeshift (अस्थायी, कामचलाऊ) wiring draped (put something loosely/casually on or over something) over stalls and overloaded transformers are common sights (a frequent/normal occurrence) at melas (a religious festival; fair; a gathering of people). However, neither shrine had an automatic power cutoff (बिजली कटौती) or a public-address system (सार्वजनिक उद्घोषणा प्रणाली) capable of debunking (गलत साबित करना) misinformation (गलत जानकारी). The Haridwar probe will almost certainly (निश्चित रूप से) reiterate (दोहराना, फिर से कहना) older recommendations such as underground cabling and real-time (वास्तविक समय, तत्क्षण) voltage monitoring. However, the threat is incidental (accidental, random, by chance, unlooked-for). Except for two major stampedes (people’s movement rapidly in a mass after panic) in recent memory (in Bengaluru and Hyderabad), all such tragedies have occurred at religious mass gatherings or in the course of (during the particular period or activity) attending them. They occur despite multiple guidelines and court orders due to (because of, owing to, on account of, as a result of) authorities’ collective (aggregate; common) desensitisation to risk. On paper (theoretically, in theory, hypothetically), Uttarakhand has a crowd-management manual for the Char Dham (the four preeminent Hindu pilgrimage sites (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) in the Himalayas in the State of Uttarakhand) and the NDMA’s guidelines say that every event must calculate carrying capacity, stagger entry, maintain redundant (extra, surplus, excess, spare) escape routes, and hold drills (rehearsal, training, instruction). Yet, at Mansa Devi, the stairway that doubles as (function as) entry and exit was used without scheduling (plan), and the only alternative route had much lower carrying capacity.

In Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, the response centred on (focus, concentrate, be based, pivot, revolve around) compensation (payment, repayment, settlement (for loss/damage)) rather than (instead of) structural reform. The NDMA norms (rule, guideline, standard, criterion) need to be legally binding (obligatory, compulsory, mandatory, required, requisite), with severe consequences (result, effect, ramification, repercussion, reverberation) for persons, enterprises (firm, company, organization, industry, business) or businesses that fail to protect lives. At present, States choose provisions (clause, condition, stipulation, requirement, term) from the norms and temple trusts often treat them as optional because pilgrim (traveller, worshipper, devotee, visitor to a shrine) facilities (amenity, place, centre, location, premises) fall under (be included in; be classified as) charitable exemptions (special treatment, privilege, favouritism; immunity, exclusion, exception, indemnity, freedom) in many building codes. Routine ‘darshan’ does not require safety certification even when daily footfall (the number of people entering an area in a given time) exceeds that of a sports stadium. States also bank on (rely on, depend on; anticipate, expect) ad hoc (impromptu, unpremeditated, unprepared, unplanned, unarranged, unconsidered, spontaneous, offhand, improvised, makeshift) volunteers and under-trained (not having adequate training) guards (a group of people serving to protect a place; security guard) to manage surges (sudden increase/rise). However, annual drills mandated (order, instruct, direct, command, require, prescribe) under the Disaster Management Act are rarely held for regular worship, while funds earmarked (set aside, lay aside, set apart, reserve, preserve, withhold) for permanent infrastructure (the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc) are often diverted to festivals. The time has come to eradicate (remove, do away with, eliminate, get rid of) the notion of a simply planned or cheap mass gathering event, religious or otherwise. When footfall exceeds a preset (predetermined, planned, preplanned) threshold (it is an amount, level, or limit of something. Once the threshold is reached, something else happens or changes; lower limit, starting point, point of entry), a single incident-command structure (It is a standardized, flexible framework used by organizations and governments to manage incidents and emergencies with precision and coordination) must come into effect (come into force, become effective, become enforceable, or applicable). Authorities must deploy (use, utilize, employ, make use of) overhead LiDAR (an acronym for “light detection and ranging,” is a remote-sensing technology that uses laser beams to measure precise distances and movement in an environment, in real time) and AI cameras to calculate crowd density (the number of people within a unit area, such as per square meter), with real-time alerts to help divert or throttle (control, restrain, contain, stop/halt) traffic. Finally, States must ensure that venues publish capacity charts at entrances, conduct and livestream quarterly drills to normalise a safety culture, and certify volunteers in basic life support and crowd psychology.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.notion (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचार, धारणा
English Meaning - idea, belief, concept, opinion, thought.

2.pilgrimage (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तीर्थयात्रा
English Meaning - religious journey, holy expedition, excursion.

3.endure (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सहन करना
English Meaning - undergo, go through, experience, face, encounter, cope with.

4.chaos (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अव्यवस्था, अराजकता
English Meaning - disorder, disarray, turmoil, disorganization, disruption.

5.shrine (noun)

Hindi Meaning - धार्मिक स्थल, मंदिर, पवित्र स्थान
English Meaning - temple, holy place,

6.reportedly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - कथित तौर पर
English Meaning - supposedly, seemingly, apparently, allegedly, professedly, ostensibly, purportedly. ​

7.hazard (noun)

Hindi Meaning - खतरा, जोखिम
English Meaning - danger, risk, peril, threat, menace, jeopardy, problem, imperilment.

8.makeshift (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थायी, कामचलाऊ
English Meaning - impromptu, unpremeditated, unprepared, unplanned, unarranged, unconsidered, spontaneous, offhand, improvised, ad hoc.

9.power cutoff (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बिजली कटौती
English Meaning - power outage, power failure, loss of power.

10.debunk (verb)

Hindi Meaning - गलत साबित करना
English Meaning - prove to be false, invalidate, negate, disprove.

11.public-address system (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सार्वजनिक उद्घोषणा प्रणाली
English Meaning - A public address system (PA system) is an electronic system that includes a microphone, amplifier, speakers, and related equipment.

12.misinformation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गलत जानकारी
English Meaning - disinformation, false information, false rumour, fake news, alternative fact.

13.certainly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - निश्चित रूप से
English Meaning - surely, definitely, clearly, unquestionably, undeniably, obviously, beyond doubt.

14.reiterate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दोहराना, फिर से कहना
English Meaning - say something again; say again, repeat, retell, restate, iterate, recapitulate.

15.real-time (noun as modifier)

Hindi Meaning - वास्तविक समय, तत्क्षण
English Meaning - the actual time in which something happens.

16.do away with (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - remove, abolish, quash, eliminate, discontinue, cancel, abandon, drop, stop, scrap, get rid of.

17.steep (adjective)

English Meaning - sharp angle; vertical.

18.snapped (adjective)

English Meaning - (suddenly) broken.

19.live (adjective)

English Meaning - electrified, powered, connected, active, switched on.

20.overhead (adjective)

English Meaning - suspended.

21.spark (verb)

English Meaning - cause, lead to, bring about, give rise to.

22.trigger (verb)

English Meaning - cause, lead to, bring about, give rise to.

23.electrocution (noun)

English Meaning - the injury/killing caused by electric shock.

24.drape (verb)

English Meaning - put something loosely/casually on or over something.

25.common sight (noun)

English Meaning - a frequent/normal occurrence.

26.mela (noun)

English Meaning - a religious festival; fair; a gathering of people.

27.incidental (adjective)

English Meaning - accidental, random, by chance, unlooked-for.

28.stampede (noun)

English Meaning - people’s movement rapidly in a mass after panic.

29.in the course of (phrase)

English Meaning - during the particular period or activity.

30.due to (phrase)

English Meaning - because of, owing to, on account of, as a result of.

31.authorities (noun)

English Meaning - officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the bureaucracy.

32.collective (Adjective)

English Meaning - aggregate; common.

33.desensitisation (noun)

English Meaning - the process of making something insensitive or less sensitive.

34.on paper (phrase)

English Meaning - theoretically, in theory, hypothetically.

35.Char Dham (noun)

English Meaning - the four preeminent Hindu pilgrimage sites (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) in the Himalayas in the State of Uttarakhand.

36.National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) (noun)

English Meaning - The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, is the apex body for Disaster Management in India. Setting up of NDMA and the creation of an enabling environment for institutional mechanisms at the State and District levels is mandated by the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

37.redundant (adjective)

English Meaning - extra, surplus, excess, spare.

38.drill (noun)

English Meaning - rehearsal, training, instruction.

39.double as (verb)

English Meaning - function as.

40.scheduling (noun)

English Meaning - plan.

41.centre on (verb)

English Meaning - focus, concentrate, be based, pivot, revolve around.

42.compensation (noun)

English Meaning - payment, repayment, settlement (for loss/damage).

43.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

44.norm (noun)

English Meaning - rule, guideline, standard, criterion.

45.binding (adjective)

English Meaning - obligatory, compulsory, mandatory, required, requisite.

46.consequences (noun)

English Meaning - result, effect, ramification, repercussion, reverberation.

47.enterprise (noun)

English Meaning - firm, company, organization, industry, business.

48.provision (noun)

English Meaning - clause, condition, stipulation, requirement, term.

49.pilgrim (noun)

English Meaning - traveller, worshipper, devotee, visitor to a shrine.

50.facility (noun)

English Meaning - amenity, place, centre, location, premises.

51.fall under (phrase)

English Meaning - be included in; be classified as.

52.exemption (noun)

English Meaning - special treatment, privilege, favouritism; immunity, exclusion, exception, indemnity, freedom.

53.footfall (noun)

English Meaning - the number of people entering an area in a given time.

54.bank on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - rely on, depend on; anticipate, expect.

55.ad hoc (adjective)

English Meaning - impromptu, unpremeditated, unprepared, unplanned, unarranged, unconsidered, spontaneous, offhand, improvised, makeshift.

56.volunteer (noun)

English Meaning - charity worker, unpaid worker.

57.under-trained (adjective)

English Meaning - not having adequate training.

58.guard (noun)

English Meaning - a group of people serving to protect a place; security guard.

59.surge (noun)

English Meaning - sudden increase/rise.

60.mandate (verb)

English Meaning - order, instruct, direct, command, require, prescribe.

61.Disaster Management Act, 2005 (noun)

English Meaning - The stated object and purpose of this act is to manage disasters (e.g. cyclone, earthquake & etc.,), including preparation of mitigation strategies, capacity-building and more.( To address the past epidemic outbreak, the Central government had included the Covid-19 outbreak as “Notified Disaster” as a “critical medical condition or pandemic situation”).

62.held past tense of hold (verb)

English Meaning - organize, arrange, convene, have.

63.earmark (verb)

English Meaning - set aside, lay aside, set apart, reserve, preserve, withhold.

64.infrastructure (noun)

English Meaning - the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.

65.eradicate (verb)

English Meaning - remove, do away with, eliminate, get rid of.

66.preset (adjective)

English Meaning - predetermined, planned, preplanned.

67.threshold (noun)

English Meaning - it is an amount, level, or limit of something. Once the threshold is reached, something else happens or changes; lower limit, starting point, point of entry.

68.incident-command structure (ICS) (noun)

English Meaning - It is a standardized, flexible framework used by organizations and governments to manage incidents and emergencies with precision and coordination.

69.come into effect (phrase)

English Meaning - come into force, become effective, become enforceable, or applicable.

70.deploy (verb)

English Meaning - use, utilize, employ, make use of.

71.LiDAR (noun)

English Meaning - an acronym for “light detection and ranging,” is a remote-sensing technology that uses laser beams to measure precise distances and movement in an environment, in real time.

72.crowd density (noun)

English Meaning - the number of people within a unit area, such as per square meter.

73.throttle (verb)

English Meaning - control, restrain, contain, stop/halt.