Crowd Disaster Management

Posted 22 Jul 2025

Updated 25 Jul 2025

3 min read

Why in the News?

Stampede outside Chinnaswamy stadium where people gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) IPL victory resulted in several fatalities and injuries.

About Stampede

• Historically, compressive asphyxia has been the most common reason for deaths in crowd disasters

Stampede (a type of crowd disaster) or crushing is the surge of individuals in a crowd, in response to a perceived danger or loss of physical space. [United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)]

Crowd Management Failures and Triggers

Crowd Control Failures:
- Overcrowding: E.g., Chinnaswamy stadium, 2025 2.5 lakh crowd gathered as against the 34,600 capacity.
- Lack of Stakeholder Coordination: E.g.,RCB's social media announced free entry passes at stadium gates without proper coordination with Police.
Crowd Behaviour Triggers:
- Panic an structural issues: E.g., Elphinstone Road Station, Mumbai (2017), panic triggered by a rumour of bridge collapse on an overcrowded, slippery footbridge during heavy rain.
- Fire/Electricity related: E.g., In Dabwali Fire Tragedy, Haryana (1995), stampede was triggered due to fire in a tented venue and narrow exit.
Tussle to catching a glimpse of a celebrity: E.g., stampede at the "Pushpa 2" premiere in Hyderabad (2024).

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Guidelines on Planning for Crowd management

Preparedness

Constitutional and legal provisions regarding crowd management- Article 19, Police Act, DM Act

Risk Assessment and Planning: Conducting Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)- rating every possible hazard on the dimensions of Severity, Frequency of Occurrence, and Difficulty of detection.
- E.g., learning from Mumbai's efficient handling of the 2024 T20 World Cup roadshow.
Crowd Density Norms: Specify permissible crowd per square metre and evacuation triggers (e.g., barricade breach).
- Model Example: New York mandates trained crowd control managers for events with 1,000+ attendees.
Infrastructure Development: E.g., Stadiums, ghats, temples must be re-engineered with multiple wide entry/exit points; Multilingual signage and public address systems, etc.
Facilities and Emergency Medical Services: E.g., Maha Kumbh 2025 had articulating water towers (AWT) to prevent and tackle fire incidents, water ambulance, multi-disaster response vehicle etc.

Response

Information System: E.g., Mobile updates, loudspeakers, Signage, digital boards etc. for crowd guidance and informing public about delays, diversions, and hazards instantly.
Safety and Security measures: E.g., Watch towers at all vantage locations with reserve with wireless communication network, CCTV monitoring etc.

How Technology Can Prevent Stampedes in India?

RFID & IoT for Crowd Tracking: They can help can track visitor movements, ensuring no area exceeds safe capacity.
- E.g., Kumbh Mela & Vaishno Devi pilgrimages have tested RFID tagging for crowd control.
Surveillance & Real-Time Crowd Monitoring
- AI-driven CCTV cameras and drones can analyze crowd density, detect potential bottlenecks and panic movements and guide emergency responses.
  - E.g., Hajj pilgrimage uses AI-based crowd monitoring to prevent stampedes.
- Drones with thermal imaging can monitor large gatherings from above.
- Live aerial feeds help command centers make real-time decisions.
AI models: All major events can be logged for identifying crowd patterns, evacuation performance, and logistical gaps to train AI models and improve preparedness in future.
- Predictive analytics can forecast overcrowding and alert authorities before a crisis occurs.

Conclusion

Effective crowd management is a multidisciplinary responsibility requiring meticulous planning, inter-agency coordination, stakeholder engagement, and the integration of modern technology. As public gatherings in India increase in size and frequency, strict adherence to NDMA guidelines—including risk-based planning—is essential.