Gone are the days when great persons such as lal Bahadur Shastri resigned as Union Minister due to a rail accident. The fatal stampede at a Dussehra event at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, which has claimed more than 30 lives, is undoubtedly the result of total mismanagement and administrative failure. Not only officers, but also political rulers should be held responsible and arrested for their gross negligence towards public safety. The Chief Minister or a senior Minister should have personally monitored an event where about half a million people gather.
Not only are such accidents likely during festive events in the country, stampedes at several religious temples attracting a heavy devotee rush during peak seasons, have also become a usual feature, with neither the Union nor the States taking preventive steps. The Union Government in consultation with the States should prepare a list of sites together with occasions on which these attract an unusual heavy rush, and secure them from disasters.