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ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Stampedes have been arecurring phenomenon in

India. Tragedies of peoplebeing trampled to death havetaken place at religiousgatherings, mass processions,election rallies and even atmusic concerts. According tothe National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB), a total of 3216incidents of stampede havetaken place in India between2001 and 2014, leading to 2421casualties. Moreover, 79% ofall such stampedes in Indiaoccur at places of worship. Thehigh incidence of suchstampedes in India highlightsthe need for effective crowdmanagement in the country.

This issue ofSouthasiadisasters.net is titled'Crowd Management in India'and focuses on the importanttheme of controlling andmanaging crowds at massgatherings in India. It discussesimportant issues related withcrowd management rangingfrom what causes stampedesand what can be done toprevent them. Behavioralfactors like the high tolerancefor crowded spaces amongIndians leading to higher casesof stampedes have also beendiscussed in the issue.

At the institutional level,stampedes are often seen asisolated events caused by theexcesses of a frenzied crowd tobe dealt by successivegovernments by offeringcompensation to the familiesof victims. This issue tries tobuild a new narrative aroundstampedes attributing them tosystemic gaps in the country'scrowd management capacitiesand suggest ways of bridgingthis gap.

– Kshitij Gupta, AIDMI

INTRODUCTION

Understanding CrowdsIndia is no stranger to large

gatherings or crowds. Crowdedrailway stations, market squares andtemple complexes are allcommonplace. Given the ubiquity ofcrowded places, Indians tend to havea high tolerance for them. Thus, it isimportant to understand how crowdsoperate.

As soon as the word "crowd" is heard,the first instinct is to "manage" them,if not control them. Given the unusualnumber of stampedes taking place atreligious congregations in the countryit is important to manage these crowdsboth efficiently and creatively.Through the work of All IndiaDisaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)in India across nine states, sixty ninedistricts and over thirty five cities ithas been found that all crowds do notneed to be managed or controlled; thatall crowds are not unruly or out ofcontrol; that in fact crowds offerenergy and numbers to move towardssomething creative and constructive insociety from time-to-time.

In AIDMI's resilience building workin four most important temples ofGujarat - Somnath, Dwarka, Pavagadh,and Dakor - it was clear that crowdsthat gather around and in the templeson daily as well as occasional basis dopose a risk and can cause a majordisaster like a stampede. But it wasalso evident that crowds have theirown ways of working out cautiousmovements, harmonising pace, re-orienting direction, and avoidinginjuries. But this informal, self-organising, local ways of crowds arehardly studied, which is why they'venever been used to enable crowds toself-manage. In fact there are hardlyany crowd studies available in Indiathough crowds are everywhere. WhatAIDMI has found in its work withthese temples is that crowds can actand commit to be and remain safe, canre-organise and re-orient, can balancebetween internal and externalprocesses that lend to risk, and evolve

a coherence to its members for a giventime and place. This is not on effort toromanticise crowds, but to leveragethe inherent creativity and capabilityof a crowd for the common good.

Rahul Mehrotra, India's leadingarchitect, has re-introduced KumbhMela, world's largest gathering to us.Kumbh Mela is self organising,seamless, cost effective, safe, and abliss to all who attend this world'slargest crowd. In fact he argues thatsuch traditional gatherings offer us anew and more rooted way of planningcities and settlements in India.

At a presentation of his book on KumbhMela at L.D. Institute of Indology inAhmedabad what became clear to mewas the need to change the design anddelivery of the environment withinwhich crowds gather and operate. Thatis, changes in the ability of decisionmakers to understand crowds; changesin coordination and collaboration aswell as the mobilisation of crowdmanagement; and change in institutionsand institutional capacities to respondto the needs and energies of crowds.

So if we were to launch crowd studiesin India what will be its top fourresearch priorities? First, start with thehistory of crowds that gather at saythe Jagannath temple in Bhubaneswaror the Jama Masjid on Eid in Delhi.Second, find out where can crowdstudies be placed among academicdisciplines – in city planning,emergency management, security, andmore. Third, look at crowds as people,individuals with will and concernboth. Fourth, design and developprogrammes and events that help usbetter understand the inherent goodof crowds.

These first steps can go a long way inensuring that our country does nothave to suffer tragedies like stampedesin the future. Crowds do not remain aproblem but become a solution.

– Mihir R. Bhatt

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INITIATIVES

BSDMA and Crowd Management

India is home to a large number offestivals, pilgrimages, religious

and social gatherings such as DurgaPuja, Chhath Puja, Kumbh Mela,Ramzan, Rath Yatra and Hats,Bazaars, Processions, etc. Given theirreligious, social and culturalsignificance, most of these occasionsattract thousands and millions ofpeople/devotees.

An event of Mass Gathering isgenerally characterized by hugenumber of people accumulating in avery limited space in a short span oftime. Such events, though observedfor a limited time, sometimes attracta crowd, which if not managedcarefully can lead to a catastrophe.The following are some criticalcrowd management issues whichshould be considered by theorganizors of any mass gathering:1. Mix of visitors on the basis of

age, physical fitness, gender2. Religious sensitivity of the

devotees for religious functions3. Managing the waiting time for

the devotees at the gathering.4. Ensuring cleanliness of the

venue5. Providing a reasonable degree

of comfort to the waitingdevotees.

6. Medical assistance for the sickor injured people.

7. Special arrangements for infants,children, old and infirmdevotees.

8. Special security measures toavert potential terrorist attacks.

If the above concerns are notproperly managed then stampedescan take place at such events.

Special events always require specialmanagement measures, includingnon- routine investments of publicresources to cope with the largecrowds they draw. Some of thecrowd control strategies are listedbelow:1. Evaluate temple capacity,

inclusive of all waiting areasconsidering reasonable waitingtime – compare withrequirement.

2. Shorten duration of religiousprocedures for fasterturnaround.

3. Carry out crowd congestionanalysis - identify bottlenecks incrowd movement.

4. Make provision for adequatespace in waiting areas to reduceclaustrophobia.

5. Quick exits with proper andwell-lit signage.

6. Forced ventilation in waitingareas to prevent heating and airquality deterioration

7. Multiple queues for differenttypes of visitors: elderly,women and children, differentlyabled.

8. Crowd safety training toemployees/staff and securitypersonnel – implement activeand passive surveillance.

9. Improve access to premises fromoutside – alter location ofofferings shops, decentralisationof markets and shops near thegathering.

Different regions, religions andfaiths have their own ways ofcelebrating their festivals. Generally,these celebrations end up becomingan event of mass gathering. Withsuch events, it becomes imperativefor the local administration/government to get involved andmake arrangements to keep theconduct of the events as smooth as

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Devotees thronging the Tirupati Balaji temple, Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh.

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possible. They need to preparethemselves according to all aspectsof disaster management, health,hygiene and medical care, masscasualty management, mediarelations, security of people, and carefor vulnerable groups, etc.

Identification of main organizer/sponsor and other key stakeholdersprior to event and regularconsultation with them is alsoimportant, since many a times lastminute changes are made whichrequire adjustments in the planningof events and crowd management.Many a times it is observed that theadministration avoids adopting a

multi stakeholder approach alongwith identification of new risks.

The Bihar State DisasterManagement Authority (BSDMA)took the initiative to develop casestudies of Mahakumbh 2013 inAllahabad, Chhath Puja, World YogaConvention and other events inBihar and recommendations weremade for providing end-to-endsolutions to various issues relatingto crowd management. This exerciseprovided several key lessons to theadministration and became the basisfor training in the form of mock-drills to all the concerned officialsof the local administration.

One of the basic and fundamentalprinciples for disaster planning isbuilding worst-case scenarios basedon the previous history of the eventand lessons learnt from similarevents elsewhere, to roll out the planaccordingly. A participatoryapproach with the activeinvolvement of variousstakeholders, players including thelocal representatives and the localcommunity will go a long way inensuring smooth conduct of eventsof mass gatherings.

– Anil Kumar Sinha,Sr. Advisor and Mentor, Hazard Risk

Management and Climate ChangeAdaptation; Former Vice Chairman,

BSDMA, Bihar

CROWD AND DRR

Crowdsourced Potential for DisasterThere is a saying of Nepali folk

wisdom: "Hool ma jiujogau, anikalmabiujogau!" It translates as, "In anunruly crowd, save your body: in afamine save seed for next season'splanting!" This wise counsel tells usthat within a crowd lurks thepotential for death and destruction.How to first understand that risk, andsecond how to work towardsobviating it or at least significantlyminimizing it is the challenging taskbefore us all.

The possibility of increased levels oftragedy in crowded places is due notjust to normal population increase butto a lifestyle forced on us all withmodernization that has broughtindustrialization, urbanization,rapidity of transport andcommunication as well as ease ofbanking and food delivery. Indeed,no modern industrial economy canfunction without a large populationbase concentrated within a very smallspace. The modern factory and similarproduction sites may be the primarylocale of such population density, butthe secondary locales they spawn tocater to other needs of suchdemographics are no less a source ofpanicked stampedes or deliberateterrorist attacks. Think of a large

hospital, government service center,entertainment sites, inter-citytransport hubs and many other suchplaces.

Although it is assumed thatmodernization slowly does awaywith old cultural practices andtraditions like religious gatherings,it is often noted that modernizationincreases the scale and significance ofsuch events. For instance, the KumbhMela in Allahabad, an ancienttradition said to be the largestgathering of humans in the world,certainly did not see thirty millionpeople at the confluence of Ganga andJamuna in a day a century ago.However, with the ease of moderntransport, mobile phones, TV publicityand ease of food supply, massivecrowds started thronging the Kumbh.

Furthermore, celebrity concerts,football or cricket matches, politicalroad shows, college admissions andmany such social engagements willcontinue to increase in size in thefuture as people seek meaning anidentity in their lives. Such places alsobecome locales of politicalstatements, including that ofterrorism. DuryogNivaran, the SouthAsian Network of scholars, social

activists and public servantspromoting an alternative perspectiveon disasters, has as its foundingphilosophy the idea that "disasters arean unfinished business of development".What lies behind this statement is theunderstanding that disastermitigation is at the same time aconstant rethinking of development,revisiting its premises and exploringalternative ways of achieving thesame ends not just with less cost andbetter efficiency but less risk for thelonger-term future. In so doing, wemust also turn in reverence to the Sageof Sabarmati who not so long agosaid that the world has enough forour needs for not enough for ourgreed. The Gandhian idea of gramswaraj, the simpler life-style basedaround village self-sufficiency, mighthave been side-lined by theimperatives of modern capitalism butits search for a de-congested,materially simpler but culturallyricher life-style has become morepressing today. This special issue is asmall step in that re-thinking to avoidpotential, and wholly unnecessary,tragedies in crowded places in thefuture.

– Dipak Gyawali, Pragya, NepalAcademy of Science and Technology;

Chair, Nepal Water ConservationFoundation

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UNDERSTANDING RISK

Planning for Crowd Management – ReligiousEventsIndia has experienced major crowd

related disasters over past years.The majority of these disasters arerelated to religious festivals.Statistics show that more than 70%of crowd related disasters in Indiahave occurred during religiouscelebrations. The day is not far whenwe will experience such incidencesin events like musical concerts,exhibitions, firework display, sportingevents and places like malls, Cinematheatres, market places, etc.

Events where large congregationstake place are either held in anIndoor Complex or in an open area/ground. Religious gatherings inIndia are generally held indoors aswell as outdoors. The safety andsecurity of the place of event is theresponsibility of the organizers/Trusts/ Owner of the premises andthe local administration. The mainreason for crowd disasters duringreligious events in India has beenidentified as "lack of Planning" onthe part of organizers, whichinvolves, Risk assessment, Crowdmanagement and control measures,Resource management and efficientcoordination among thestakeholders, though there areexceptions to this statement.

Characteristics of Religious EventsEach religious event in India has itsown set ritual/peculiarity. With theyears passing by the rituals andproceedings remaining the same thevarying factors (vulnerability) hasdrastically changed and there isalways a resistance from theorganizers to modify the rituals orproceedings to reduce thevulnerability. Notwithstanding thedifferent peculiarities of eachreligious place, there is always acommonality in strategy

formulation and managementprinciples. Intelligent application ofthese strategy and principles willgreatly reduce the uncertaintyassociated with planning &organizing for a safe and secureevent.

Planning for the EventIncident or Event planning shouldfollow a set process for itsdevelopment. In a religious eventplan, the process begins withunderstanding the Event followedby emergency managementactivities. The flow chart asvisualized shall be as under:

Understanding the EventMost of the religious events in Indiaare of set pattern however there is aneed to discuss the event proceedingwith the concerned authorities toidentify variations necessary inconsideration of increasingvulnerability, if any. Considering thescope of the event and previousknowledge on the subject thefollowing need to be worked out:• Area of interest(geographical area)• Celebration Period• Anticipated Human Density• Existing& Required Infrastructure

and Facilities.

For example the anticipated humandensity during 2015 Maha KumbhMela was worked out based onpopulation growth in the countryand in the region. Accordinglyavailability of infrastructure andfacilities were assessed and gapsidentified.

Understanding the RiskA holistic & detailed hazard,vulnerability, risk & Capacityanalysis need to be worked outconsidering safety & security ofpilgrims and local population. Theanalysis should not only cover themain event location but also coveradjoining area, which has directconsequence in conduct of the event.

For example the Hazard, Risk,Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA)conducted for Maha Kumbh Melaincluded Core area of Ram Kund &Kushavart area and the routesleading to the location and nearbyreligious places likely to be visitedby the pilgrims etc.

Initiating Crowd ManagementMeasuresThe HRVA determines thepreventive/mitigation measuresneed to be initiated in terms of

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infrastructure and facilitydevelopment. These measures arecompared with the existinginfrastructures and facilities and thegaps are identified. The requirementof additional permanent/ temporaryinfrastructure and facilities areidentified and work plan along withits financial budget is prepared. Onapproval build up activities areundertaken during Pre Event Period.

The procedural complexities andfinancial constraints can be easilyresolved by integrating private/corporate and communitystakeholders in the entire process.

Initiating Crowd Control MeasuresThis involves actual conduct of event.A detailed institutional structureneeds to be created consideringanticipated contingencies andaccordingly resources are deployedon ground for effective monitoringand controlling measures.

The concept of "Incident ResponseSystem" in overall management ofevent has been found to be aneffective & efficient managementSystem. The principles of UnifiedCommand, Unity & chain ofCommand, span of control furtherhelps in effective and efficientcontrol measures. Mega event of

Maha Kumbh Mela 2015 wassuccessfully conducted adopting IRSmanagement system..

Command & Control MechanismThe scientific advancement in thefield of information technology forcollection, collation, assessment anddissemination of information needto be integrated in the overallcommand and control set up. Theconcept of Emergency OperationCentre found to be very effectivetool in monitoring & controlling ofan event spread over large area &having involvement of all linedepartments, NGOs, CBOs, Centralforces. This concept was effectivelyoperationalized during MahaKumbh Mela & was a great success.

Contingency PlanningContingencies also emerge from riskAnalysis which needs to be plannedand integrated in to overall resourcemanagement. Additional resources,facilities, routes etc. need to beplanned and staging areas created fortimely response. Detailed SOPs needto be prepared and rehearsed forachieving operational effectiveness.With the limited resources there is aneed to identify primary andsecondary tasking to resources toensure that there are no voidscreated.

DocumentationThe reality in our failure to arrestrecurring disasters, resulting in lossof lives and property, is our failureto reassess past event performancein absence of proper documentation.A well prepared document act astorch bearer to expose to positiveand negative aspects experienced.We need to capitalize on successstories and get rid of shortcomingsobserved.

The IRS management system has anintegral arrangement fordocumenting the entire eventproceeding in a most systematicway. This will greatly help futureorganizers to understand the reasonsfor failures or success.

ConclusionManagement and Control of Crowdrelated events vary as per thelocation, type of event, compositionof patrons and hence no two eventsor situations are identical. This paperprovides an approach to planningfor management special events. Themanagement principles thoughcommon, they need to be modifiedto suit to event requirement.

– Col V N Supanekar (Retd),Director & Professor, Center for

Disaster Management, YASHADA,Pune

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Most of the big temples in India have a crowded market in their premises. The above photo is from Shiv Mandir nearParshurampur, Sheohar, Bihar.

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KEY LESSONS

Maha Kumbh Allahabad – Lesson andLearning for IndiaKumbh Mela is a mass Hindu

pilgrimage of faith in whichHindus gather to bathe in a sacredor holy river. Traditionally, fourfairs are widely recognized as theKumbh Melas: the Haridwar KumbhMela, the Allahabad Kumbh Mela,the Nashik-TrimbakeshwarSimhastha, and Ujjain Simhastha.These four fairs are held periodicallyat one of the following places byrotation: Haridwar, Allahabad(Prayaga), Nashik district (Nashikand Trimbak), and Ujjain. The mainfestival site is located on the banksof a river: the Ganges (Ganga) atHaridwar; the confluence (Sangam) ofthe Ganges and the Yamuna and theinvisible Sarasvati at Allahabad; theGodavari at Nashik; and the Shipraat Ujjain. Bathing in these rivers isthought to cleanse a person of allsins.

At any given place, the Kumbh Melais held once in 12 years. There is adifference of around 3 years betweenthe Kumbh Melas at Haridwar andNashik; the fairs at Nashik and Ujjainare celebrated in the same year orone year apart. The exact date isdetermined according to acombination of zodiac positions ofthe Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon.At Nashik and Ujjain, the Mela maybe held while a planet is in Leo(Simha in Hindu astrology); in thiscase, it is also known as Simhastha.At Haridwar and Allahabad, anArdha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is heldevery sixth year; a Maha ("Great")Kumbh Mela occurs after 144 years.

The festival is one of the largestpeaceful gatherings in the world, andconsidered as the "world's largestcongregation of religious pilgrims".There is no precise method of

ascertaining the number of pilgrims,and the estimates of the number ofpilgrims bathing on the mostauspicious day may vary. Anestimated 120 million people visitedMaha Kumbh Mela in 2013 inAllahabad over a two-month period,including over 30 million on a singleday, on 10 February 2013 (the day ofMauni Amavasya).

The Maha Kumbh Mela is reportedlythe world's largest gathering ofpeople. Estimates peg the number ofdevotees swarming Allahabad'sbanks between 70 and 100 million.During the six-week festival,pilgrims press to take a holy dip inthe Sangam, the confluence of theGanges, Yamuna, and mythicalSarasvati rivers. The water isbelieved to wash away sins and offerrelief from the cycle of rebirth.

The local government's ability tosuccessfully manage this human tidalwave is even more impressive whenplaced in context. According to theWorld Bank, roughly one-third ofIndia's population lacks access toelectricity. However, in a cityconstructed and later deconstructedin a matter of weeks, electricity, safedrinking water, and policeprotection are all provided. It's aninstructive achievement.

The Kumbh is also a first-rateexample of an effective public-private partnership. According toHarvard researchers and the Indiangovernment's Mela Administration,the state lays out the Kumbh Melacity grid and its various sectors,including roads, 41 police checkposts, 36 fire stations, and 30hospitals. However, nearly 5,000private (many religious)

organizations plan the inner tentcities, which hold as many as 700,000tents. NGOs run the missing personsunits in coordination with the statepolice. Making this task moredifficult is the city's elasticity, as itsparameters are partially determinedby the annual river recession, whichcomes into full view only in October.The entire city "pops up" in thesubsequent two months.

At the Kumbh city, a range ofgovernment departments work inunison to ensure that there are nostampedes, accidents, epidemics orother public health disasters asmillions of pilgrims pass through.And yet, the Mela is just a temporaryspace that must eventually bedismantled; most of the city is builtout of makeshift, disposable orreusable materials that are oftenstored for future use.

The transitory nature of the KumbhMela makes it easier for the formaland informal to worksimultaneously, but smoothly.

Good GovernanceDeploying cities that privilege thetemporary could be extremelyuseful in the context of refugeecamps or housing for urban migrantpopulations. While the Kumbhsystem may not be completelyflawless, but its model ofgovernance definitely has helpfullessons.

The Kumbh is organized with theco-ordinate efforts of the centralgovernment, the state governmentand the municipal authorities, andthere is a hierarchy of governanceto be followed on paper. "But thesehierarchies flip during the actual

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implementation, when the person onthe ground is given a lot moreauthority along with accountability,"

The Kumbh has survived as asuccessful institution and urbansystem primarily because it has asingle purpose and is bound by thefaith of millions of Hindu pilgrims.But flexible-yet-accountablegovernance is also a major factor.

The railway stampede, initially asignificant cause for alarm andskepticism regarding the festival'sorganization, actually occurredoutside the Kumbh's jurisdiction,underscoring just how dangerouslarge gatherings like this can bewithout well organizedmanagement. Meanwhile, theKumbh site saw police use anintegrated computer system toregister displaced or missingpersons, frequent announcements onloudspeakers, well-placedidentification posters, pictures onnine giant LED screens, and

Smartphone applications to guideloved ones back to one another.

The Kumbh, while far fromproblem-free, is a notable exampleof the state's ability to accomplishsignificant feats in short order, notusually considered its forte. With anurban population set to double overthe next 20 years, India shouldharness the exceptional planning

skill displayed at the Kumbh. Thiswould be one small step incapitalizing on a demonstratedpotential to transform the lives ofmany living in India's mostimpoverished conditions.

– Dr. Bhanu Pratap Mall,Executive Secretary, PoorvanchalGramin Vikas Sansthan (PGVS),Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Pilgrims crossing a make-shift bridge at Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.Source: http://drop.ndtv.com/albums/NEWS/kumbh-mela/kumbh_mela3.jpg

The Quick Response Teamis a backup of trainedguards and officers tohandle the emergencycalls. Quick ResponseTeam members are welltrained in handling CrowdManagement, FireFighting and Rescueoperations.

The Quick Response Teammembers ideally aretrained and prepared to

fulfill the roles required by the specific situation and for quickly rush tothe incident place and provide assistance with all latest equipment todeal with any kind of emergencies.

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CASE STUDY

Crowd Management in Dahod District,Gujarat

As we know that Gujarat is oneof the most hazard prone states

in India facing a multitude ofdisasters. Over the last few years ithas faced floods, cyclone, andearthquake. Not only the naturaldisaster but also faced the man-madedisasters. Theses have resulted in aloss of human lives and property indifferent parts of the state. Since lastmany years, the Government ofGujarat has taken up variousinitiatives related to disastermanagement, which gainedmomentum after the establishmentof the Gujarat State DisasterManagement Authority (GSDMA).GSDMA has been established withthe mandate of preparingcomprehensive disastermanagement strategy for the state.The approach in this regard, now, ison preparedness and mitigationinstead of the traditional model ofrelief and rehabilitation.

Regarding the district of Dahod,Dahod is the eastern gateway ofGujarat and was carved out ofPanchmahal district in 1979 and thedistrict is spread across 8 Talukas andDahod Taluka is the districtheadquarter and Dahod shares itsborder with Rajasthan state in thenorth and Madhya Pradesh state inthe east. Dahod district known as atribal district due to the largenumber of tribals residing there.

Regarding the crowd in Dahoddistrict, in different parts of thedistrict the people get together inone place and the place known asHaat Bazaar. Organized everyThursday, the Haat Bazaar draws large

crowds and the biggest crowd atassembles at a village calledGangardy in Garbada Taluka. In thatapproximately 10000 people comefrom entire the district of Dahod, andif we cannot manage the crowd thena lot of incidents arise at the placelike accidents, fire, poisoning, andothers. Hence, crowd managementis always needed.

In Dahod district crowdmanagement is especially requiredduring the Holi Mela, a fair whichtakes place during the festival ofHoli because of the importance ofthis festival for the tribals. Before thisfair, the District Collector organizesa meeting at District level on crowdmanagement and invites the officialsfrom Police Department, the healthdepartment, RTO department,revenue department and firedepartment. In that they discuss onentry and exit point at place, trafficcontrol, defined parking place,arrangement of the security stafffrom the home guard department,from the police department and from

the SRPF department and definedtheir roles and responsibility, andinformed to the health departmentfor the arrangement of theemergency ambulance at place andregarding it in Dahod district at thetime of the Holi festival. They alsoarrange for extra ambulances at thesite of the fair.

Early warning and communicationare also discussed at this meeting. Adistrict level disaster control roomhas been established and it has beenworking round the clock to informthe revenue department regardingany kind of emergency message.

In case such a message is received,collector gives the instruction to theall agencies that all Agencies shoulduse the Incident Command System(ICS) as a basis to structure a lawenforcement response to crowdmanagement events. And allagencies should perform their roleand responsibility at a place of thecrowd.

And for the purpose of awarenessbuilding, regarding the disaster, atthe place of the crowd we arrangethe poster exhibition or stall keepingso that people can participate themock drill regarding the fire andevacuation.

In case any untoward incident doesoccur, then we document all thedetails and submit them to GSDMAand the relief commissioner or statecontrol room.

– Pravinsinh Rathod,Ex-DPO, Collector Office,

GSDMA, Dahod

Since last many years, theGovernment of Gujarat

has taken up variousinitiatives related to

disaster management,which gained momentumafter the establishment of

the Gujarat State DisasterManagement Authority

(GSDMA).

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CASE STUDY

Bhadrapadi Fair in Ambaji

Usually on each fifteenth day ofFull Moon Day of each month

as per the Vikram Samvat, year ofIndian Hindu calendar, Ambajicelebrates a spontaneous ReligiousFair and Festival with "Lok Mela".A big mass of devotees use to comehere to worship Maa Ambaji on eachday of Poornima during the year.But on the fifteenth day (Full MoonDay) of the months of Asho, Kartik,Chaitra, and Bhadrapad, the Spirit ofFestival and Religious Fairsincreases at their peaks, due to thesignificance of these holy days in theworship of Shakti Swaroopini MataAmbica.

The people and devotees also enjoyall these Four Festivals of purnima,with Darshan, Ohm Havan andTraditional Garba Dances. Moreover,the cultural shows of GujaratiBhawai, a purely ancient folk danceand "Play of Gujarat" are also theprime attractions of these festivals.Around 15 to 20 lakh people insideand outside of Gujarat join thisBhadarapadi Fair in Ambaji.

DRM Program, Public Awarenessand its spreadPublic awareness is the key activityof Disaster risk managementprograme. Public gathering inAmbaji on Bhadarvi poonam is ahuge platform to make thecommunity aware of DRM. For thefirst time a display gallery wasprepared where differentgovernment officials from differentgovernment departments presentedtheir various achievements, Schemesand Activities in front of Public.

Disaster Management Branch ofPalanpur district presented Dos nDon'ts during disaster, Dos n don'tsbefore and after disaster so thatmaximum awareness can bedisseminated at mass gathering.Disaster Management Branch ofPalanpur district also requestedpeople to give their suggestion andcomments on such event.

An Important step by EOC(Emergency Operation Center):1. Distribution of IEC material:

Stalls for distributing IECmaterial were set up at fourplaces of Ambaji. Around1,10,500 copies of IEC materialwere distributed in the publicfor spreading awareness.

2. Public Awareness Point:The people who are comingBhadravi purnima fair are usedto take rest and night stay inservice camps on the road sides.Disaster Management Branch ofPalanpur district displayawareness material to thepeople who are taking rest atvarious service camps. They alsoput hording on the various roadsites.

3. Public awareness activity onDisaster Risk ManagementProgram through BHAWAI(Local Gujarati street play)Awareness Information wasdelivered throughentertainment at various fourplaces of Ambaji. The peoplereally like this activity of DRMprogram.

– Nirmal Sharma, Ex-District ProjectOfficer, GSDMA, Palanpur

A procession being taken out by devotees at Bhadrapadi fair, Ambaji, Arravali, Gujarat.

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RELIGION AND DRR

The Necessity of Crowd Management atReligious PlacesIn the past few years, India has

witnessed many stampedes in thereligious places with a number oflives lost. Mostly, during occasionsat religious places, influx of millionsof pilgrims takes place. Hence, suchgatherings create a tremendousamount of pressure on the authoritywhere any occurrence of a disasterwill result in widespread human andinfrastructural loss and damage.Increasing participation in festivaland events combined with higher"density of tolerance" of the peoplemakes venues and places of massgathering (especially places ofworships) in India extremelyvulnerable and prone to disasters.

People believed that "A temple is notonly a place of worship, but it is alsoa place of learning; about thereligion, language, culture, tradition,i.e. what is right and what is wrong,and how we should behave in orderto live a happy life and so on."Hence, it is imperative that the

temples or any such venues or placesof religious and cultural significancebe safeguarded against theoccurrence of disasters.

In the mentioned table, it is possibleto see the major disasters seen latelyin places such as temples duringreligious festivities.

As we see in the table of the pastdisasters "Stampede" was one of themajor disaster and thousands ofpeople died because of themismanagement of crowd. Recently,the 1st Indian Conference on CrowdManagement (ICMC 2017) was heldat Gujarat Institute of DisasterManagement (GIDM) by TheRenewing and EmpoweringSociety's Progress EnhancingCapacities through Technologies(RESPECT) to make opportunitydesigned to strengthen CrowdManagement at places of massgathering by bringing majorstakeholders together at one place.

This is important because India ishome to the largest religiousgathering in the world called theKumbh Mela.

What is the Kumbh Mela?The Kumbh Mela is the confluenceof Indian cultures and the symbol ofspiritual awakening. It is the eternalflow of humanity and also believedto be the largest religious gatheringon earth. The Mela alternatesbetween Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjainand Haridwar every three years.Depending on what position the Sun,Moon, and Jupiter hold in that periodin different zodiac signs, the venuefor The Kumbh Mela is finalised.During such times, it is necessary tocontrol the crowd with a culturalview. In the recent Kumbh Melawhich was also known as 'SimhasthaKumbh Mela' was held in Ujjain,Madhya Pradesh. A stampede tookplace at this Mela, where sevenpeople were killed and aroundninety others were injured when

PlacePuttingal temple complex in Paravoorvillage, Kollam district, Kerala stateOutside a Hindu shrine in the ThaicapitalChitrakoot area of Satna district ofMadhya PradeshKumbh Mela, Train station inAllahabad, Uttar PradeshBridge near the Ratangarh Mata Templein Datia district, Madhya PradeshKalubai temple in Satara district,MaharastrainRaghunath Temple Jammu

Akshardham Temple Gandhinagar,Gujarat

Sabarimala temple in the Indian state ofKerala

DateApril11th, 2016August17th, 2015August,2014February10th 2013,October13th 20132005

2002

2001

1999

Type of disasterFire during afireworks displayAttack

Stampede

Stampede

Stampede

Stampede

Two suicide bombersstormed the templeTerror attack, use ofautomatic weaponsand hand grenades.Stampede

Consequences106 people were killed

Killed 27 people, includingforeign tourists, media reported10 pilgrims were killed andabout 60 were injured36 people died in this episodeand at least 39 were injuredKilled 115 people and injuredmore than 110300 were killed

killed 14 and injured 45

33 people were killed and 80others were wounded

53 people were killed

southasiadisasters.net July 201712

Editorial Advisors:

ALL INDIA DISASTER MITIGATION INSTITUTE411 Sakar Five, Behind Old Natraj Cinema, Near Mithakhali Railway Crossing, Ashram Road,Ahmedabad–380 009 India. Tele/Fax: +91-79-2658 2962E-mail: bestteam@aidmi.org, Website: http://www.aidmi.org, www.southasiadisasters.net

Denis NkalaRegional Coordinator, South-South Cooperationand Country Support (Asia-Pacific), UnitedNations Development Programme, New York

Ian DavisVisiting Professor in Disaster Risk Management inCopenhagen, Lund, Kyoto and Oxford BrookesUniversities

Dr. John TwiggSenior Research Associate, Department of Civil,Environmental and Geomatic Engineering,University College London, London

Madhavi Malalgoda AriyabanduSub-Regional Coordinator, Central Asia & SouthCaucasus, United Nations Office for Disaster RiskReduction (UNISDR), Kazakhstan

Mihir R. BhattAll India Disaster Mitigation Institute, India

Dr. Satchit Balsari, MD, MPHThe University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell,New York, USA

T. Nanda KumarChairman, Institute of Rural Management Anand(IRMA), Anand, Gujarat, India

heavy rains accompanied bylightning and squall flattened anduprooted the makeshifts tents ofpilgrims.1

The DM Act stands as thefundamental guide to be revisitedunder the purview of the disastermanagement cycle.

As per the national DM Act 2005, theDDMA has the power to ensure thatthe vulnerable areas are identifiedand the mitigation and preparednessmeasures are taken up by theGovernment Department at all levelsof the district.

hazard points, alternative routes torelease crowd pressure andaccessibility of emergency exits at alltimes.

The guidelines clearly suggest, theroles and responsibilities of variousstakeholders, also for the eventorganizers and venue managersshould develop, implement, reviewand revise the disaster managementplan in coordination with othersincluding local administration andpolice. Like, police should activelyparticipate in venue assessment andpreparedness checks and guidecrowd and traffic movements.

Event/venue managers can involveNGOs and civil defence in trafficcontrol, people flow control, medicalassistance, sanitation andmobilization of local resources incase of disaster. Its's also suggestedadministration should take care ofall the necessary approvals and alsomake proper arrangements for theevent schedule, venue, transport,medical, food, hygiene andemergency facilities.2

Thus, it is important to develop aholistic approach in managingunexpected events. Preparing CrowdManagement Plan should be anexercise which considers the issues,challenges, and use of technology invenues and events of massgatherings in India, which are mainlyfocused on shrines and religiousplaces with the help of theauthorities and other stakeholders inaverting tragedy.

– Dharmik Purohit, AIDMI

In view of the recurring stampedesat places of mass gathering,including religious places, andtypically ad-hoc responses to those,the National Disaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA) has published aguide line for State Government,Local Authorities, Administrationand Organizers which is called"Managing Crowd at Events andVenues of Mass Gathering" in 2014which are to be followed whichinvolves congregation ofindividuals. The guidelines forcrowd control at places of massgatherings, suggesting deploymentof snake line approach, constantmonitoring of crowds for developing

Dates of Maha Kumbh Mela at Nashik, Maharashtra, India.

1 http://globalpress.hinduismnow.org/events/tragedy-strikes-ujjain-kumbh-mela-stampede-kills-seven-injures-90-firstpost/

2 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NDMA-issues-guidelines-for-crowd-control-at-large-gatherings/articleshow/24274548.cms