Crowd Management  : An Alternative Perspective

 Huge crowd gatherings are  not new to  India. Any occasion is good enough ;  fairs and festivals,  religious discourses  pravachans , sporting events etc. Massive crowds from all over the country gather like  at Kumbh Melas. Political parties too gather huge crowds providing  free transport and other incentives. In recent times,  the national passion for cricket has also become  a big crowd puller.

Organisers of these events obtain permission form Local Administrations and the latter  provide facilities like   drinking water, toilet , temporary accommodation in tents, special buses and   trains to and from the site , first-aid,  general medical and sanitary services to control spread of diseases like cholera, etc. Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering ,a 2014 publication of National Disaster Management Authority is replete with details of precautions and provisions for managing crowds.   These only represent the strategy  in crowd management from the ""Supply" side.  

    With a growing population , increased per capita income and improved transport services,  crowds swell in large numbers every year  posing enormous problems for Local authorities to provide these facilities adequately .   Further , there is the unpredictable risk of the crowd getting into a frenzy to rush to the temple, river or the spiritual guru to have darshan, the holy bath or blessings of the Guru. . If there is lack of any of the arrangements, heaven forbid,  the catastrophe of human misery of death and injury of hundreds of people.  Added to these is the problem of law and order when  anti-social elements get into the fray. 

    No matter how adequately or efficiently they are provided , there would always be a gap between what is required and what is provided. Therefore, it is time to address the crowd management problem from "Demand" side. .In a nutshell,  this would comprise policy initiatives to curb the crowd attendance in fairs and festivals. At best,  encouragement  by providing incentives for travel to the sites should be stopped forthwith.as some State governments announced  free  trains and buses to Ayodhya after the Ram Mandir consecration.  Instead,  some additional fare could have been levied to transport the devotees in safety and  comfort.  ..Another option could be to stagger the fairs in two or three segments spread over a month. For instance,  the Shahi Snan (Bath) in Kumbh Mela could be on two days of the   same Shukla/Krishna Paksha   "Thithis" occurring at monthly interval... 

    These ideas  may not be brushed aside even if they ruffle the feathers.in  some sections of the people  A dispassionate  understanding and cooperation of Heads of religious and social groups should dispel any objection if  they realise  the implication of an unrestricted  crowd   the limited resources for  provision of safety and comfort  and the grave risk of damage to life and property if  crowds are not restricted in number..