The tragic stampede on the occasion of Navratri festival in Datia, Bhopal, has taken a heavy toll of life. The nation is in a state of shock. The crowds assembled for paying obeisance at a temple met with murderous stampede. A baseless rumour was floated snout the bridge on the river being rickety and collapsible caused panic and chaos as the crowds standing in queue to cross the bridge began jumping the queue. Panic ensued and the resultant stampede in which men, women and children were crushed and trampled over. It was a heart rending scene.
First, it is pertinent to reflect on inadequate safety bandobast for the pilgrimage. Local and State administration in Bhopal knew that lakhs of pilgrims would throng the site on Navratri festival. This has been the tradition followed by the masses of people since olden days. It was, therefore, obvious that the entire Government machinery should have been geared to the event and its minutest details were taken into consideration before the festivities began. We have innumerable shrines and temples in the country which have the historic tradition of attracting lakhs of pilgrims. But the district and State administration are always geared to ensure that the pilgrimage is conducted in safety and security. The State administration cannot be absolved of its negligence in making adequate and satisfactory precautionary arrangements. Take the case of Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage or Tirupati pilgrimage. The number of visitors to these shrines far exceeds the numbers that had come to Datia temple. Pilgrimage to these and other shrines is managed efficiently just because the administrative machinery is geared to the event.
Secondly, the complaint of some eye witnesses is that the police unnecessarily and perhaps in a state of nervousness unleashed cane charging of the pilgrims. It exacerbated chaos and confusion. Police didn’t have full training of mob controlling business. Did police authorities’ issues guidelines and certain dos and don’ts to the pilgrims to be observed in full? It was all the more necessary because last year also there was some stampede and fifty people had lost their lives. The administration of the State should have learnt a lesson from it.
It is claimed that miscreants floated a false rumour about the bridge on the river being unsafe and collapsible. Efficient and alert police guides and conductors would have very easily overcome this disinformation and saved the situation from slipping out of hand.
Maybe there were malevolent elements also bent upon spreading false rumours and creating panic and chaos. It is also possible that in the wake of impending assembly elections, vested interest would have stoked the embers of political rivalry. All these probabilities should have been anticipated and measures proposed to counter any sinister design. The electorate is already getting surcharged with election fever and the administrative machinery cannot take chances.
Unfortunately, as we see, a tragic incident that has happened in course of things is being politicized by some among the political class in the country. Instead of offering assistance and succor to the affected families and sympathizing with them for an unforeseen happening, political parties are trying to draw extra mileage out of the calamity. It is most unbecoming on the part of political activists to make it a plea for denigrating the ruling party. Natural or man made calamities have been happening in different parts of the country very often. The memory of the tragedy in Gangotri caused by heavy rains and floods leading to loss of human lives and collapse of houses is still fresh in our memory.
The State Government has ordered judicial enquiry into the happening. At the same time, in consultation with the State Election Commission, it has announced ex-gratia relief to the bereaved/affected families.
The tragedy in MP is being politicized. It does not behoove our history and culture to become inhuman and insensitive and begin deriving political mileage out of human tragedy.
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