Did our VIP obsession trigger Andhra stampede?

The 27 people in Rajahmundry chose the wrong day to die. Because whether tje IPL's next season with just six teams will be financially viable and whether Indian cricket has been adequately cleaned up, was the more important issue that national television chose to focus and outrage upon at prime time on Tuesday. There is certainly something fundamentally wrong with the insensitivity with which we handle our news.

But far more guilty are those who led these 27 innocents into a death trap. The VVIP culture that shut off the devout, eager to have the early dip on day one of the Godavari Pushkar at this scenic ghat in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. But since chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family and entourage of ministers had chosen to take the holy dip at the popular Pushkar ghat, instead of Saraswati ghat, earmarked for VIPs, the commoner had to wait.

Now what is it, if not terrible intelligence failure, that the administration failed to notice that thousands had already arrived in Rajahmundry by evening trains so that they are among the first to take a dip in the Godavari.

What was the police doing if it did not know that morning buses and trains had brought several more thousands into the city. Did those making the arrangements not even know that this Pushkar ghat is within half a kilometre of both the railway station and bus station. And that would mean they would all flock to this nearby ghat.

Why weren't the police or volunteers deployed to divert people to the other five ghats in Rajahmundry once the crowds started swelling outside the Pushkar ghat? Or were they too busy ensuring safety and comfort for the VIP entourage?

Why didn't anyone have the courage to tell Naidu that his 90 minutes at the ghat, were leading to a difficult situation outside? And when the decision to open the gates was taken, did anyone realise that a ghat that can reportedly accommodate 30,000 people, was being swamped by nearly one lakh pilgrims. Look at the pictures, there is not an inch of space to stand.

The government spent 1,600 crore rupees and in the end, all it had to show on day one was 27 dead bodies and another 50 injured in hospitals in Rajahmundry. If this was the pathetic manner of crowd control that it could put up, where was the need to over publicise the event and inviting everyone to Godavari Pushkar.

Crowd management means you should not allow more people to gather than what the spot can accommodate. There are clear guidelines laid out by the national disaster management authority (NDMA) which should be like a rulebook to handle situations like these. Tuesday's tragedy showed scant regard for the norms.

The opposition, on expected lines, has demanded Naidu's resignation. If pictures are anything to go by, Naidu looks pretty shaken by the tragedy. One can only hope that this is a wake-up call for him to crack the whip and make an example of doing away with the VIP culture.

This is not the first time a stampede has happened at a public event like this. One only wishes lessons were learnt from previous tragedies. And more importantly, make the aam aadmi the centrepiece of the event and treat him like a VIP.