THE CONTEXT: The 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, a massive religious gathering in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, has exposed severe lapses in governance, crowd management, and accountability. Despite significant financial allocations and technological advancements, the event has been marred by multiple tragedies, highlighting systemic failures and a prioritization of political and economic interests over public safety.
STAMPEDES: A REFLECTION OF MISMANAGEMENT
1. New Delhi Railway Station Stampede (15 February 2025)
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- Incident Overview: A stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station left 18 dead and dozens injured as thousands of devotees rushed to board special trains to Prayagraj. Overcrowding was exacerbated by the sale of excess tickets (2,600 above capacity) and conflicting platform announcements.
- Causes:
- Poor communication: Confusion over train platforms led to chaos.
- Lack of crowd control: No holding areas or adequate personnel were deployed.
- Response:
- Victim-blaming by officials who attributed the tragedy to “unnecessary rush” rather than systemic failures.
- Compensation announcements: ₹10 lakh for deceased families and smaller amounts for the injured.
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2. Sangam Ghat Stampede (29 January 2025)
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- Incident Overview: On Mauni Amavasya, a stampede at Sangam Ghat killed 30 people (official count) and injured over 90 as nearly 10 crore devotees gathered.
- Causes:
- VIP movement disrupted crowd flow: Blocking of 28 pontoon bridges forced common attendees into bottlenecked entry/exit points.
- Delayed reporting of casualties: The UP government hesitated to acknowledge the disaster, raising concerns about data suppression.
- Political Response:
- The Chief Minister deflected criticism by comparing the tragedy to the 1954 Kumbh stampede under Congress rule, which claimed over 800 lives.
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Misallocation of Resources
1. VIP Privileges vs. Common Devotees:
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- VIPs were provided luxury accommodations, vehicles for transport, and exclusive access to facilities such as pontoon bridges.
- In contrast, ordinary attendees walked 15–20 kilometers with no rest centers or basic amenities en route.
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2. Economic Prioritization:
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- A ₹7,500 crore budget was allocated for the event, with claims that it would generate ₹2 lakh crore in economic growth.
- The mela was marketed aggressively as a “once-in-144-years” event despite similar claims in 2013 and 1989.
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TECHNOLOGICAL FAILURES: Despite branding the event as a “Digital Maha Kumbh,” technological interventions like AI-powered crowd monitoring and underwater drones failed to prevent disasters. This highlights a lack of effective implementation despite advanced tools being available.
RELIGIOUS POLITICIZATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY EVASION
1. Politicization of Religion:
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- The government used religious sentiments to justify extreme conditions at the mela. For instance, high faecal coliform levels in Sangam water were dismissed as an attack on devotees’ faith by the Chief Minister.
- The event became a tool for ideological promotion by Hindu nationalist parties.
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2. Victim-Blaming and Superstitions:
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- Authorities normalized deaths by framing them as acts leading to salvation for the deceased.
- Responsibility was shifted from systemic failures to individual actions or divine will.
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THE WAY FORWARD:
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- Decentralized Governance with Real-Time Crowd Analytics: To prevent stampedes, adopt NDMA’s IoT and AI-driven crowd management protocols, as seen in Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival, ensuring real-time density mapping via ISRO satellites. Link accountability to Article 21 by legally mandating a “Crowd Liability Index” for officials, penalizing capacity breaches. Audit past failures (2013 Kumbh) to institutionalize pre-emptive risk simulations.
- Equitable Resource Allocation via Social Audits: Amend land laws to enforce a “Right to Equitable Public Resource Access,” banning VIP infrastructure (SC, 2019) and mandating CAG-backed audits of funds. Learn from Brazil’s Rio Carnival, allocating 30% of budgets to SHGs for sanitation, tracked via a “Public Infrastructure Parity Index” to rank states on fairness.
- Environmental Accountability through Green Certifications: Launch “Green Kumbh Certification” under NITI Aayog’s SDG 6, mandating CPCB water standards (BOD <3 mg/L) and penalizing ritual pollution per MC Mehta (1988). Fund sewage plants via “River Health Bonds” and create a “Dharma-Niti” council to bridge ecology and faith, addressing Sangam’s 50,000 MPN/100ml coliform levels.
- Behavioral Governance via Nudge Theory: Deploy NITI Aayog’s “Salvation through Safety” campaigns, inspired by Kerala’s Sabarimala SMS nudges, framing safety as a spiritual duty under DPSP Article 48A. Train “Dharma Doots” as first responders and gamify compliance via “Kumbh Safe” apps, offering redeemable “punya points” to counter superstitions.
- Federal Crisis Communication Network: Establish a blockchain-secured Unified Pilgrimage Communication Hub under the Disaster Management Act, using ISRO’s GSAT-30 for real-time alerts, as in EU’s ERCC. Criminalize fake announcements per SC’s 2020 media guidelines and integrate Rajasthan’s AI “Rail Saathi” to resolve conflicting platform info.
- Judicial-Public Accountability Nexus: Create a “Kumbh Judicial Oversight Committee” (ex-SC judges) to prosecute negligence under IPC 304A, mandate CSR-funded victim compensation, and impose a 1% GST surcharge on luxury packages for a “Stampede Reparations Fund.” Model transparency on South Africa’s Truth Commission, ending victim-blaming.
THE CONCLUSION:
The Maha Kumbh Mela of 2025 serves as a stark reminder of governance failures in managing large-scale events. While prioritizing political narratives and economic gains, authorities neglected scientific crowd management principles and basic public safety measures. The tragedies underscore the urgent need for accountability, better planning, and equitable resource allocation to ensure that such events respect human dignity while preserving their cultural significance.
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. What is disaster resilience? How is it determined? Describe various elements of a resilience framework. Also mention the global targets of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). 2024
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 stampede highlights significant challenges in managing large-scale religious gatherings in India. Critically examine the factors that led to this tragedy and suggest comprehensive measures to prevent such incidents in future events.
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