Close to 3000 people lost their lives in Stampedes between 2001 & 2015
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 29, 2017
Stampedes at mass gatherings have claimed close to 3000 lives between 2001 and 2015. More than 3500 incidents of stampede took place during this period according to the NCRB. Jharkhand with 441 deaths accounted for the most number of deaths during this period followed by Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra.
More than 20 people lost their lives in an unfortunate stampede in Mumbai’s Elphinstone station. Every year, hundreds of incidents of stampedes have been taking place in various parts of the country highlighting dangers at places with mass gatherings. Data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that there have been a total of 3550 incidents of stampede in the country from 2001 to 2015 resulting in the death of 2901 people.
More than 100 people lost their lives because of stampedes in eight (8) of these 15 years. The highest number of incidents occurred in 2009 (1532 incidents). But the highest number of lives were lost in 2011 (489 deaths). In 2011, more than 100 people lost their lives in each of the three states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Kerala. At least 400 people have lost their lives in four different years namely 2008 (434 deaths), 2011 (489 deaths) , 2013 (400 deaths) and 2015 (480 deaths). The least numbers of deaths occurred in 2006 (18 deaths). The total number of deaths in the eight years between 2008 & 2015 is almost three times the total number of deaths between 2001 & 2007.
In the fifteen (15) years from 2001 to 2015, 2062 men, 834 women and 5 transgender persons lost their lives in incidents of stampede. Except in 2005, more men lost their lives than women in each of the remaining 14 years. More than 100 men lost their lives in six (6) of these 15 years while more than 100 women lost their lives in three (3) of the 15 years. Most men lost their lives in 2011 (412) while most women lost their lives in 2005 (200).
In the fifteen years from 2001 to 2015, Jharkhand leads with most deaths due to stampedes. 441 people lost their lives in Jharkhand because of stampedes, 386 of them in just one year 2015. Andhra Pradesh with 389 deaths is second in the list followed by Maharashtra with 368 deaths because of stampedes. More than 100 people lost their lives in twelve (12) states during this period. Tamil Nadu (239 deaths), Rajasthan (220 deaths) and Madhya Pradesh (213 deaths) are next in the list. Even in 2016, there have been some major stampedes in Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra (2005): The Mandher Devi temple stampede occurred in January 2005, in Satara district of Maharashtra. More than 300 people lost their lives.
Rajasthan (2008): A stampede occurred in September 2008, at the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. More than 200 people lost their lives.
Himachal Pradesh (2008): The Naina Devi temple stampede occurred in August 2008 in Himachal Pradesh. More than 100 people lost their lives.
Kerala (2011): The Sabarimala stampede occurred in January 2011, at Sabarimala in Kerala. More than 100 people lost their lives.
Madhya Pradesh (2013): This stampede occurred during the festival of Navratri, near the Ratangarh Mata Temple in Madhya Pradesh. More than 100 people lost their lives.
Detailed guidelines issued by NDMA
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued detailed guidelines to State governments to manage crowd at events of mass gathering.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)