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A day after the massive stampede at New Delhi Railway Station that took lives of at least 18 people, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said that India needs to make crowd control and safety a national mission.
"As the world's most populous nation, with one of the lowest per capita incomes, we need to make crowd control and safety an article of faith and a national mission," Anand Mahindra wrote on X. Mahindra said that India needs a template of crowd management -- a combination of technology and process analysis. "We all need to chip in," he said, requesting the Engineering and Management schools at Mahindra University, Hyderabad, to work on the problem jointly and devise a template. Referring to the New Delhi stampede, the businessman said that it was a heartbreaking national tragedy. The stampede occurred around 10 pm on Saturday when thousands of devotees were heading to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh in a special train, causing severe overcrowding at the station. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, the incident occurred when a large number of passengers gathered on platform no. 14, where the Prayagraj Express was stationed. Additionally, delays in the departures of the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani led to further congestion at platforms 12, 13, and 14. An eyewitness described the chaos, stating that the crowd came from both sides after an announcement about a train platform change, leading to the stampede. Another eyewitness recounted the horror, saying that the crowd was beyond control. People from the administration and even NDRF personnel were there, but when the crowd exceeded the limit, it was impossible to manage them. Most of the bodies of the deceased brought to the national capital's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital following the stampede at the New Delhi Railway station had injuries on their chest and abdomen areas, with asphyxia being the likely cause of death, according to sources in the hospital. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh has been announced by the Indian Railways for the families of the deceased who lost their lives in the tragic incident. Additionally, the Indian Railways announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured in the incident and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries. Meanwhile, a two-member committee has been formed to investigate the stampede, in which 18 people died and several sustained injuries. The committee comprises Narsingh Deo, Northern Railway's Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM), and Pankaj Gangwar, its Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC). (ANI)
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