Express View: Lessons from the Hathras stampede

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that a retired judge will probe Tuesday’s deadly stampede at a satsang (religious congregation) held by a self-styled preacher in Hathras. The investigation will “pinpoint lapses” and the culprits won’t be spared, he has said. Accountability for the incident that claimed more than 120 lives and left at least 300 injured must be fixed urgently. Initial reports indicate that the crowd gathered to hear the godman, Bhole Baba, far exceeded the estimate the organisers gave to the district administration. Many devotees tripped while trying to collect the soil the self-proclaimed preacher had walked on. There is no doubt that the satsang’s organisers must be held to account. But the state administration would be mistaken to assume that its role in a mass event, even if privately organised, is limited to issuing permissions and providing security. Along with the organisers, the onus is on state authorities to ensure that safety isn’t compromised. CM Adityanath’s allusion to “a conspiracy” sounds diversionary. His government must deploy its energies and resources, instead, in uncovering the multiple failings behind the grievous incident, and ensuring that it does not happen again.

Authorities must be stringent about the size of a gathering. However, the administrative and police machinery is not always equipped to ensure that the crowd does not swell beyond the sanctioned numbers. In such situations, the number and placement of exits at the event are crucial, as are real-time interventions to ensure that religious or cultural fervour does not imperil public safety. Healthcare facilities should be kept on alert. By all accounts, many of these boxes were not ticked at Hathras. Safety, it is now apparent, was not a priority for the organisers of the satsang and the administration did precious little to nudge them to take the necessary precautions. The devotees had gathered in a makeshift tent, pitched on a field made marshy by the rains. The terrain caused many to slip and the humid weather made matters worse. The narrow exit routes at the satsang site, partly blocked by vehicles, were insufficient to evacuate the panicking crowd. The nearby hospital was hard-pressed to handle the influx of injured people. Several doctors were reportedly not at work and the healthcare facility did not have oxygen cylinders to support people suffering respiratory distress.

Religious gatherings, festivals, weddings and functions that draw large crowds are a regular part of the cultural, political and religious calendars of almost every district, or even neighbourhood, in the country. Hathras is a lesson — such gatherings are susceptible to panic-inducing triggers. The tragedy should push policymakers to evolve safety-related protocols. The Adityanath government which uses Section 144 to restrict people’s gatherings on occasions as different as the farmers’ protest to religious festivals should reflect on its failings in Hathras. A government that takes pride in organising the Kumbh should do better than merely smelling conspiracies. It — and other authorities across the country — must ensure that mass gatherings do not turn chaotic and take such a high toll.