Should Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath take moral responsibility for the horrendous incident which took place in Hathras leading to the death of over 120 persons?
The horrible tragic event of Hathras speaks volumes regarding the law and order situation in the largest state of India, Uttar Pradesh.
There seems to be a complete failure of law and order with the administration being a mute spectator.
How come 2.5 lakh people are allowed to gather at one spot without the police and administration being wary of it.
The fact that so many persons were going towards one place should have perked up the ears of the police.
The police and the administration just cannot allow more than a certain number of people to gather at one place.
It is reported that permission was sought and given for about 80,000 people to assemble at one place (which itself is a large number) but then what steps were taken by the administration and the police so that the assembly is peaceful and there were no untoward incidents.
And, secondly who guarantees that the numbers will remain the same and not swell?
If the number grows to three times, then what will the administration do and for that matter if the number grows five times how will the police handle? These are the possible scenarios the administration should foresee and be prepared to handle.
It cannot just say after such an event that the numbers grew “What can we do?”. It is natural that more people than permitted will come.
It is the duty of the police to forcibly stop people from gathering in large numbers beyond that permitted. Police has sufficient powers to do so.
As it was a religious function and not a political one, perhaps the administration hoped everything will pass off peacefully and did not think of possible repercussions.
But that is exactly the kind of laid-back attitude which should be shunned by the police and administration. Large number of police forces including reserved police forces should have been present along with senior officers and the ambulances and fire brigade in standby, for any eventuality. Suppose the meeting had turned violent and created riot?
A high level probe has been ordered by the State administration which must go into the details particularly what was the actual number of people allowed to gather, what steps police took to see that the number does not swell, what preparations were made for different possible scenarios, particularly if crowd turned unruly. Did the police check the number of entry and exit points and ensure peaceful circulation and dispersal of the crowd. Administration should also check that adequate ventilation, fans, toilets and water facilities were made available to such a large crowd.
One cannot just leave everything for the organisers. Who will see to it that organisers have properly organised the programme with adequate facilities so that no one comes to harm? It is the duty of the administration. Just giving permission and then sitting back quietly is not the job of the administration, they must see to the smooth conduct of the show and its peaceful end.
When 120 or more people die, and several are injured due to stampede because of mismanagement then those running the state must be held responsible and accountable. They cannot get away by just passing the buck.
Even though Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has acted promptly by not only ordering judicial probe, forming a Special Investigation Team, announcing compensation and visiting the injured in Hathras, as the executive head of the state, he cannot absolve himself of the moral responsibility of so many deaths at a function which may have been prevented with proper management by the authorities of the state.
The incident is supposed to have taken place when the crowd rushed to touch the feet of the Baba while he was leaving the venue. But this one incident should leave us with many lessons learnt so that such incidents do not occur in future.
Such incidents have even occurred earlier with the highest toll of nearly 800 person dying at Prayag Kumbh Mela in 1954.
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