Context
- The recent stampede at New Delhi railway station on February 15 serves as a grim reminder of the persistent inadequacies in passenger safety and crowd management within Indian Railways.
- Despite the rapid modernisation of railway infrastructure and an ever-expanding network, the core issue of ensuring basic safety remains alarmingly overlooked.
- The tragedy underscores deeper systemic failures; failures not rooted in resource constraints but in institutional inertia, mismanagement, and a lack of accountability.
The Primary Cause of New Delhi Stampede: Systemic Lapses and Negligence
- Systematic Lapses
- The fundamental principle of crowd control is to ensure smooth and unidirectional movement, eliminate bottlenecks, and deploy sufficient security personnel.
- However, these measures were evidently ignored at New Delhi railway station.
- The sudden announcement of a special unreserved train to Prayagraj on platform 12, despite an existing massive crowd on platform 14, led to confusion and panic.
- This decision, though not officially categorised as a platform change, created an uncontrolled surge of movement, resulting in chaos and ultimately, disaster.
- Failure to Implement Proactive Measures
- Preliminary reports suggest that the control room, despite having access to CCTV surveillance, failed to take proactive measures such as stopping escalators to prevent congestion.
- This negligence highlights an alarming lack of situational awareness and preparedness among railway authorities.
- The inadequate deployment of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and poor barricading further exacerbated the situation, exposing passengers to grave risks.
- The claim that authorities were caught off-guard by the influx of ticket sales is implausible, as festival seasons have historically drawn large crowds, necessitating robust crowd management strategies.
Broader Disconcerting Aspects of the Tragedy
- Half-Truths and Shifting Blame
- In the aftermath of the tragedy, Indian Railways has attempted to shift responsibility onto passengers, citing their numbers, last-minute ticket purchases, and failure to heed announcements.
- However, such defences fail to acknowledge that mass gatherings during religious events like the Kumbh Mela are not unprecedented.
- Indian Railways itself had announced the movement of over 15 lakh passengers across 350 trains to Prayagraj in February, making it evident that authorities had prior knowledge of the expected footfall.
- The failure to replicate effective crowd management strategies, such as those successfully implemented during Chhath Puja, further questions the Railways' preparedness.
- The crisis response after the tragedy, including the abrupt deployment of additional security personnel, creation of holding areas, and suspension of platform ticket sales, indicates that these measures were always within reach but were simply neglected.
- Had these protocols been in place beforehand, the stampede could have been prevented.
- Contradictory Statements and Lack of Accountability
- One of the most disconcerting aspects of this tragedy is the Railways’ inconsistent and insensitive response.
- Official narratives have shifted from outright denial to ambiguous explanations, culminating in ex gratia payments to victims' families before the actual death toll was confirmed.
- Such actions reflect a lack of empathy and transparency, exacerbating public distrust in railway authorities.
- Attempt to Attribute the Stampede to Fake News
- Attempts to attribute the stampede to ‘fake news’ and conspiracies rather than acknowledging lapses in planning mirror a larger pattern within Indian Railways—where every mishap is prematurely blamed on sabotage rather than internal failures.
- The Railways' history is replete with similar disasters, such as the Elphinstone Road station stampede in Mumbai (2017) and the Allahabad station stampede during the 2013 Kumbh Mela.
- The recurrence of such incidents suggests that lessons from past tragedies have not been internalised, raising serious concerns about institutional learning and reform.
- Flawed Inquiry Process
- The Railways' decision to conduct a ‘high-level’ inquiry through its own senior executives raises fundamental concerns about impartiality.
- Unlike train accidents, which are independently investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), the current probe is being led by railway officials who may themselves be accountable for lapses.
- This self-regulation undermines public confidence and hinders the pursuit of justice.
The Way Forward: Need for Reform
- A truly transparent and independent investigation, whether by the CRS or another external agency, would have signalled the Railways’ commitment to accountability.
- However, the decision to oversee its own inquiry reinforces the perception that the institution is resistant to genuine reform.
- Until Indian Railways confronts its entrenched bureaucratic inertia and prioritises passenger safety over institutional complacency, such tragedies will continue to be dismissed as unfortunate inevitabilities rather than preventable failures.
Conclusion
- The New Delhi railway station stampede is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a deeper malaise within Indian Railways.
- The failure to implement basic crowd control measures, the reluctance to accept responsibility, and the flawed investigation process all point to a system in urgent need of reform.
- Moving forward, Indian Railways must abandon its reactive approach to crises and proactively address safety concerns through improved planning, greater accountability, and independent oversight.