Patna stampede could have been avoided
The traditional Ravan Vadh (slaying of Ravan) ritual which marks the end of the ten day Dussehra festivities has been the most popular mass ceremony in Bihar over the decades.
Every year, scores of people turn up at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan in Patna to witness the ceremonial burning of the demon king.
No other religious or cultural programme draws so many people from diverse sections of the society to one place in the state. But never in the past had this eagerly awaited event, which underlines the triumph of 'Good' over 'Evil' witnessed any untoward incident, let alone the killing of innocent people. That is why it came as a rude shock when a stampede left 33 dead.
The Jitan Ram Manjhi government has since constituted a high-level probe committee, shifted all the top administrative and police officials of the district and resolved to punish those responsible for the tragedy. But people are already sceptical about the outcome of the investigation because they are aware of the fate of the reports of similar probe panels in the state.
Held at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, Ravan Vadh is one of the most popular public ceremonies. Principal secretary (Home) Amir Subhani and additional director general Gupteshwar Pandey can bring out the truth behind the tragedy.
But what remains to be unanswered is whether the tragedy could have been averted with a bit of meticulous planning by the state administration and the police.
Clearly, the administration had made inadequate arrangements for such a big occasion. The primary concern seemed to have been the safety of people inside the VVIP enclosures and not that of the commoners who thronged the venue with their families.
It seems clear that nobody had anticipated the catastrophe that was waiting to happen due to lack of planning. It is evident that the administration had taken the ceremony rather casually believing that this year too, it would pass off as peacefully as ever.
To a dispassionate observer though, the dearth of proper lights and broken cattle trap at the main exit gate as well as the deployment of only a handful of police personnel to manage crowds would point to glaring administrative lapses.
One must remember that this was the first Dussehra since the multiple blasts that took place at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pre-poll rally on the same ground last year. Instead of remaining more vigilant, the administration chose to adopt a careless and casual approach.
If the security lapses at Modi's rally were not a lesson enough for Bihar officials, they should at least have remembered that a similar stampede had taken place on the banks of River Ganga during the Chhath festival in which 18 people had died 2 years ago. Even then, the government had set up a probe committee but nothing came out of it.
Given the three big instances of grave security and administrative lapses within the past two years in Patna, the Jitan Ram Manjhi government would do well to ensure that the state administration and the police remain on their toes all the time for all big and small occasions and ensure foolproof security arrangements. It must also ensure that the guilty is not allowed to go scot-free this time.