Crowd control must be a strength, not frailty
With the next IPL season set to begin on March 26, the Karnataka government is scrambling to ensure that Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium hosts the opening match. Looking to shake off the shadow of the tragic stampede that claimed 11 lives and turned the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory roadshow last June into a disaster, the government has allowed the Karnataka State Cricket Association to resume matches at the stadium and set March 15 as the deadline for complying with 17 safety measures recommended by a judicial commission.
The stampede provided the impetus for bringing in the Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd At Events And Venues Of Mass Gathering) Bill, 2025. The Karnataka High Court, which has taken up petitions on the issue, ordered that until the bill is enacted the government must enforce standard operating procedures for crowd management with help from experts.
In most cases, stampedes result from misreading the situation followed by mismanagement. In Bengaluru, an open social media invitation and lack of planning compounded the disaster as more than a lakh frenzied fans sought to enter a stadium that can seat only around 40,000. Whether in Tamil Nadu’s Karur last September, Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj last January or at the New Delhi railway station last February, each deadly stampede exposes the challenges of crowd control amid mass frenzy. Nearly always, a blame game follows. In Bengaluru, top police officials were suspended, FIRs were filed against RCB, the event managers and the KSCA. The stadium was closed while the government, which had actively participated in the felicitation, washed its hands of the affair.
The Justice D'Cunha Committee set up in the wake suggested 17 short- and long-term safety measures. The SOPs include submission of applications detailing size of gathering and crowd management plan; role of the organiser and police; permissions from various authorities; restrictions on social media posts and handling of rumours. The stadium is being fitted out with better emergency safety facilities and services. It is also important for the authorities to harness technology for crowd movement analysis and control, and deploy trained personnel with expertise in group dynamics to ensure disciplined movement. This should be a specialisation in the most populous country on the planet, not a tragic weakness exposed time and again.