The Gory Side of Festival

 Festivals are meant for celebration of life.The loud roar of the crowd, the vibrant energy in the air and the exhilarating  rush of excitement- this is the very common phenomenon of a festival, People in large number gather together in a shared celebration of religion, culture and tradition. India is globally known for its festivals. The Hindus celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Diwali, Holi and various other festivals whereas the Muslims celebrate Id, Muharram , the Christians celebrate Good Friday or Christmas with equal enthusiasm. People across the country participate in them. But in the middle of the joy and celebration there lies a deep concern that lurks amidst the congregation of people in large number- that is the peril of stampede. 

Last year Maha Navami was on October 23. On that day thousands gathered to celebrate and worship Maa Durga in a puja pandal in Gopalganj district of Bihar. But as the crowd went out of control an unfortunate incident of stampede took place where 3 people died and 17 got injured. Who can even forget this year's Hathras incident that happened on 2nd July. The Satsang event turned fatal where 121 people lost their lives and more than 150 people were injured. Google can surely provide a long list of stampede that occurred in India . But if we consider the demographic data we can surely find that most of the victims are women and children. It is because even today there is a deep rooted conviction in the society that only the women can bring prosperity and happiness in a household through their prayers. Traditional gender roles in India often place women in the roles of caregivers and nurturers. As part of this women are thought to be responsible for maintaining cultural and religious traditions within families.It is their solemn responsibility to rear up the children as well. Therefore it is not surprising that they are found more in the victim list. 

If we delve into the real  into the complexities of the stampedes during the period of festivals we can surely find out the reason behind it. Firstly festivals draw huge crowds, often exceeding the capacity of the venue. In the case of Hathras that happened this year about 250000 people gathered there whereas permission was for only 80000. Without effective management overcrowding becomes a critical factor. The second factor is poor crowd management. Insufficient barricading, untrained personnel and lack of clear directions for the crowd often result in mismanagement. Thirdly, many pilgrims and devotees travel long distances to reach the deity or the holy site. Their eagerness to reach the deity quickly may result in rushed behaviour, which an inadvertently cause chaos. In such situation even a minor disturbances, like a rumour of fire  can induce panic and as the people rush towards exit, the event may turn out to be tragic one. In many cases local authorities and event organisers fail to set up adequate medical facilities, evacuation plans and emergency exits, which leads to more losses of lives. 

Festivals in India are integral to its cultural fabric, but the safety to those who attend these events should always be paramount. Authorities must prioritize public safety to prevent such incidents. To stop such incidents authorities must adopt sophisticated crowd management techniques, like- drones, CCTV cameras. They may also consider introducing digital tokens or timed-out entry system to regulate the number of people that can enter the place at a time. There should be arrangement for gathering large number of people and their entry and exit points should be wider. Emergency services should be on high alert during this time. Specialised task force should be deployed to regulate the movement of the crowd. Moreover authorities should try to reach the people to generate awareness awareness among them and also to inform them about the security measures to be taken during an emergency. It may involve cooperation of different agencies and authorities. With a collective effort, the joy of celebration can continue, free from the fear of  unnecessary calamities.