Lok Sabha Question No. 1138 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-22
Subject: Stampede Cases
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: T.G. VENKATESH BABU, ALOK SANJAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1138.

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22 ND  NOVEMBER, 2016/ AGRAHAYANA 1, 1938 (SAKA)

## STAMPEDE CASES

†1138.     SHRI VENKATESH BABU T.G.: SHRI ALOK SANJAR:

## Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether several incidents of stampede have been reported at various places of worship/pilgrimage centres;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  number  of  such  cases  reported, persons  killed/injured  and  the  action  taken  against  the  responsible persons, separately during each of the last three years and the current year, gender, location and State-wise;
- (c) whether any inquiry has been conducted in this regard and if so, the details  and  outcome  thereof  along  with  the  followup  action  taken thereon, State-wise;
- (d)  the  financial  assistance  provided  to  the  families  of  the  victims  of such stampede during the said period, State-wise;
- (e) whether any Standard Operating Procedure/guidelines on crowd management and evacuation procedures has been framed and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  provide  training  to  police personnel on crowd management and evacuation procedures along with the details of advisories issued to the States and Police departments to prevent such incidents in future?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR)

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## L.S.U.S.Q.NO.1138 FOR 22.11.2016

(a) to (c): Based on the available information, the details of the incidents of stampede in different parts of the country are provided at Annexure.

As  per  the  VII  Schedule  to  the  Constitution  of  India,  Public order and police are state subjects.  The State Governments concerned are primarily responsible for security and maintenance of law & order in religious  places. They  are  required  to conduct  inquiry  into the incidents  of  stampede  and  to  take  appropriate  action  against  the persons responsible for such incidents.

(d):  The State Governments are also required to provide relief including financial assistance to the injured and families of the deceased in such incidents. In addition, Ex-gratia payment to the next of the kin of the deceased and those injured has been made from time to time from the Prime Minister's relief fund.

(e) & (f):  The Government of India issues advisories to State Governments/UT administrations from time to time with regard to

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crowd  management  and  to  ensure  security  and  safety  of  the  people visiting  such  religious  places.      A  detailed  advisory  was  issued  to  all States/UTs  on  01.10.2008  emphasizing  the  need  to  manage  large gatherings  and  suggesting  measures  such  as  allowing  manageable number  of  persons  to  visit  the  temples/shrines  at  a  particular  time; proper  access  control  procedure/system  at  every  entry/exit  point; establishing sound alert system; regular training of staff in evaluation procedures' etc.  Crowd control and management is part of basic police training  for  all  ranks  in  the  police  force.    The  State  Governments/UT Administrations  are  required  to  constantly  upgrade  training  syllabus and methodology relating to crowd control and management.

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|   Sl. No. | Date           | Place of Stampede and State                                                   |   No. of Persons Killed |   No. of Persons Injured | Cause of the stampede                                                                                                                                                      |
|-----------|----------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      2013 | 2013           | 2013                                                                          |                    2013 |                     2013 | 2013                                                                                                                                                                       |
|         1 | 10 th February | Allahabad Railway Station, Allahabad(Uttar Pradesh)                           |                      37 |                       43 | Stampede took place due to overcrowding on the over bridge between two platforms.                                                                                          |
|         2 | 10 th March    | Lodheshwar temple, PS Ramnagar, district Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh)            |                      02 |                       05 | Stampede occurred due to heavy rush on the occasion of 'Mahashivratri'.                                                                                                    |
|         3 | 4-5 th October | Tuljabhawani temple, PS Tuljapur, district Osmanabad (Maharashtra)            |                      01 |                       17 | Stampede occurred when Police tried to control the pilgrims.                                                                                                               |
|         4 | 13 th October  | Ratangarh district Datia (Madhya Pradesh)                                     |                     121 |                      150 | Stampede and drowning in river Sindh occurred following an alleged rumour about damage to the railing of a bridge.                                                         |
|      2014 | 2014           | 2014                                                                          |                    2014 |                     2014 | 2014                                                                                                                                                                       |
|         1 | 18 th January  | Malabar Hills area, Mumbai (Maharashtra)                                      |                      18 |                       59 | Stampede occurred due to rush of among followers who had assembled to pay last respects to Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Head Priest of Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. |
|         2 | 4 th February  | PS Pratappur district Surajpur(Chhattisgarh)                                  |                      08 |                       01 | Due to collapse of 'Bildwar Gufa' (Lord Shiva cave), many devotees were buried alive, of whom eight were found dead.                                                       |
|         3 | 4 th August    | PS Singur, district Hooghly (West Bengal)                                     |                      01 |                       36 | Stampede occurred while crossing the Railway gate at Kamarkundu by the pilgrims (devotees of Tarakeshwar Shiv Temple).                                                     |
|         4 | 25 th August   | Chitrakoot area, district Satna(Madhya Pradesh)                               |                      10 |                       10 | Stampede occurred at Kamathgiri temple.                                                                                                                                    |
|         5 | 3 rd October   | Exhibition Road, district Patna (Bihar)                                       |                      33 |                       29 | Stampede occurred among spectators of Dussehra celebration near Sir Ram Gulam Chowk while they were returning from Gandhi Maidan.                                          |
|         6 | 3 rd October   | Devaragattu village, PS Holagunda, district Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh)          |                      01 |                       42 | Stampede occurred during traditional mock- fight on the occasion of 'Banni Festival' in Male Malleswaraswami termple.                                                      |
|         7 | 4 th October   | Jagdalpur, district Bastar (Chhattisgarh)                                     |                      01 |                       01 | Stampede occurred during Dussehra chariot pulling ceremony near Maa Danteswari temple.                                                                                     |
|      2015 | 2015           | 2015                                                                          |                    2015 |                     2015 | 2015                                                                                                                                                                       |
|         1 | 4 th April     | Allahabad district, Sangam area, PS Daraganj (Uttar Pradesh)                  |                      00 |                       08 | Stampede occurred at Bade Hanuman Temple on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti.                                                                                               |
|         2 | 14 th July     | East Godavari district (Andhra Pradesh)                                       |                      27 |                       44 | Stampede due to heavy rush to enter ghat of river on the occasion of Godavari Mahapushkaram.                                                                               |
|         3 | 18 th July     | Puri District, near Marichikot Square (Odisha)                                |                      02 |                       06 | Stampede occurred during pulling of chariot of Lord Balabhadra on the occasion of Jaganath Rath Yatra celebration.                                                         |
|         4 | 10 th August   | Deoghar district, near Belabagan (Jharkhand)                                  |                      10 |                       30 | Stampede occurred when people started trying to jump queue inorder to get closer to the Baidyanathdham temple                                                              |
|         5 | 18 th October  | Deshopriya Park, PS Lake, Kolkata (W. B.)                                     |                      00 |                       22 | Stampede occurred in Durga Puja pandal                                                                                                                                     |
|      2016 | 2016           | 2016                                                                          |                    2016 |                     2016 | 2016                                                                                                                                                                       |
|         1 | 5 th May       | Simhastha Kumbh, Ujjain                                                       |                      06 |                       40 | Due to uprooting of 'pandals' by thunderstorms and lightning stampede occurred.                                                                                            |
|         2 | 15 th October  | Bana Jai Guru Dev near Malviya Bridge, PS Ram nagar, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) |                      25 |                       80 | Stampede took place during a 'Shobha Yatra'.                                                                                                                               |