Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Depressing pattern: On the Srikakulam stampede

Depressing pattern: On the Srikakulam stampede

Any gap between guidance and practice can cause a crowd crush

Sadly, the Srikakulam crowd collapse that occurred in a private and unregistered temple, on a day when high footfall was expected, is hardly surprising. Reports indicate that there was one combined entry and exit, public use of an under-construction area, inadequate (अपर्याप्त) stewarding (प्रबंधक), severe capacity overshoot, and weak infrastructure. The Hathras crowd crush in 2024 followed an event where permission was reportedly given for only a third of the crowd that attended, and investigations cited inadequate exits and gaps in planning and supervision. The 2011 Sabarimala crush also revealed systemic weaknesses in circulation control on a day with predictable (अनुमान लगाने योग्य) surges and a trigger that became lethal due to constrained pathways. These incidents had different proximate (निकटतम) triggers but the same causes of failure: reciprocal pedestrian flows and shared gates, weak physical public infrastructure, and a lack of real-time density monitoring. India already has guidance to anticipate these failures, including the 2014 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines and the National Building Code (NBC). Indian authorities have already demonstrated a feasible (संभव) path from guidance to operations, including in recent Sabarimala seasons and with the Integrated Command and Control Centre operating at Tirumala. This includes licensed plans compliant with NDMA or NBC prescriptions; calculated occupancy (अधिभोग); certified structures that prevent bidirectional flows; real-time density control by trained stewards; and real-time communications and crowd analytics. The persistence of stampedes (भगदड़, अचानक भागना) is due to the gap between guidance and enforced practice.

That almost 80% of stampedes in India occur at religious gatherings or pilgrimages (तीर्थयात्रा) is not coincidental. Pilgrim and congregational events often proceed without any licence that ties permission to a crowd safety plan that can be tested for compliance. Authorities often infer the capacity from the space available, rather than what can be estimated from egress (The action of going out of or leaving a place; an exit) options and evacuation (निकासी) times, tolerate bad or no gating (The process of controlling or restricting access to something (often a resource or information); the placement of gates or barriers) plans, accept temporary barricades without certified load ratings, and do not cordon off areas with construction materials. Public safety is a process and its absence, including during crowding disasters, is rarely due to single-point failures. The Srikakulam incident aligns with a known risk pattern and only disciplined adoption (स्वीकार करना, गोद लेना) of the country’s own codes, enforced by licensing, will reverse it. India also needs a policy culture that treats religious events as engineered systems requiring licensing and auditing.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Stampede (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – भगदड़, अचानक भागना
English Meaning – A sudden rapid rush of a crowd of people or a herd of animals, usually caused by fear or panic.

2.Inadequate (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – अपर्याप्त
English Meaning – Lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.

3.Steward (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – प्रबंधक
English Meaning – A person who manages another's property or financial affairs; a person employed to look after the passengers on a ship, aircraft, or train; an official who supervises arrangements or keeps order at a large public event.

4.Predictable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – अनुमान लगाने योग्य
English Meaning – Able to be foreseen or foretold; behaving or occurring in a way that is expected.

5.Proximate (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – निकटतम
English Meaning – Nearest in time, relation, or sequence; very close.

6.Feasible (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – संभव
English Meaning – Possible to do easily or conveniently; likely to work.

7.Occupancy (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – अधिभोग
English Meaning – The act of taking or holding possession of a dwelling, land, or post; the state of being occupied.

8.Pilgrimage (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – तीर्थयात्रा
English Meaning – A pilgrim's journey, especially one to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion; a long journey made to a place of particular importance.

9.Evacuation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – निकासी
English Meaning – The action of withdrawing military forces or citizens from a place in an emergency; the process of emptying a container.

10.Adoption (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – स्वीकार करना, गोद लेना
English Meaning – The action or fact of legally taking another's child and raising it as one's own; the action of formally choosing or taking up an idea, policy, or course of action.

11.Gating (Verbal Noun)

English Meaning – The process of controlling or restricting access to something (often a resource or information); the placement of gates or barriers.

12.Egress (Noun)

English Meaning – The action of going out of or leaving a place; an exit.