It is shocking to note that a tragic stampede occurred during the Lairai Devi Zatra festival in the early hours of Saturday. It is probably the first time that Goa has witnessed so many deaths in a stampede. Thousands of devotees from Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka attend the annual festival. Many devotees were standing on a slope near the temple. A few people fell on the slope, causing others to fall on top of each other.
Incidentally, this year the Zatra saw the largest-ever police deployment of more than 1,000 police personnel for security and smooth proceedings. Drones were used to maintain aerial surveillance on the crowd movement. A riot control vehicle was also stationed at the venue. However, no one expected a stampede to take place at the site.
What is vital when there is a gathering of such a large crowd at one spot is strict crowd management and immediate emergency response. People falling from the slope was probably the prime reason for the stampede, as they fell on one another. When a large number of people gather at a spot, the ground needs to be level in order to prevent people from slipping and falling. This aspect needs to be looked into by the authorities in future.
