Color color, war rooms: crowd control review after the stampede of the Delhi station

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There will be a 'complete overhaul' of crowd-control measures and protocols across the country, the Railways Ministry said Monday, 48 hours after a stampede at a station in Delhi killed 18 people.


The stampede was triggered by a rush of passengers at the New Delhi Railway Station, or NDLS, after three trains, one of which was a special service to the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, were delayed. These delays, and the simultaneous sale of around 1,500 general category tickets, exacerbated the situation and contributed to the overcrowding of platforms 13 and 14.


The last date of the Maha Kumbh is February 26. This means lakhs of devotees are still trying to reach the holy city to immerse themselves in the 'sangam', or the confluence of rivers.


To prevent another Kumbh-related tragedy, colour-coded enclosures, 'enhanced tech' to monitor crowds, and crisis-management training to railway officials will be part of a six-month campaign that will also see Delhi's stations will undergo 'significant improvements to enhance passenger safety'.

News Agency Ground Report | 

New Delhi Rail Station Still Crowded Day After Stampede


These measures will include special 'holding areas' - with colour-coded sections and pathways for crowd movement - for 60 stations that usually see overcrowding due to the Maha Kumbh rush.


These 60 will be designated as 'high-traffic' railway stations.


Of these 60, crowds at 35 stations connecting directly to Prayagraj will be monitored on a real-time basis by a centralised 'war room'. This is critical since 90 per cent of Kumbh devotees (the overall number swells in a Maha Kumbh year such as this) come from four states within 300km of Prayagraj.


For example, passenger traffic at a single station on 'mauni amavasya' (i.e., January 29, when a stampede at the 'sangam' in Prayagraj killed 30 people), was a staggering 17 lakh.

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Moments That Led To Maha Kumbh Stampede Caught On Cam


These 35 stations, which include those in Delhi, will be specially monitored, officials said. As part of that 'special monitoring', Delhi's railway stations will see over 200 new CCTV cameras set up.


From the law enforcement perspective, Delhi Police has deployed six Inspector-rank officers to oversee crowd management at NDLS. According to news agency IANS, these officers have been handpicked for experience in handling ops at NDLS, one of India's busiest transit hubs.


In addition, there has been increased deployment of the Railway Police Force.


Meanwhile, railway officials said they had, with immediate effect, also stopped the sale of platform tickets for seven hours starting from 4 pm; these normally allow non-passengers into the station.


This, however, will not apply to persons with disabilities or senior citizens, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, the Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railways, told News Agency.

What Led To Stampede At Delhi Station

Eyewitnesses claimed the stampede broke out after a rumour spread that the Prayagraj Express was going to arrive on a different platform. Railway authorities, however, have denied the claim.

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Did Platform Change Lead To Delhi Stampede? What Cops Say


Mr Upadhyay said some people coming down from a footbridge connecting platform 14 and 15 slipped and fell on others. "No train was cancelled, nor was there any change in platform," he said.


He also said  at the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was at platform 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was at platform 15.

With input from agencies

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