- It’s common knowledge in India that cricket is not only hugely popular but also passionately followed by literally everyone here. Little wonder, cricket is considered no less than a religion and cricketers at par with movie personalities as well as other celebrities. The craze surrounding cricketers is seen to be believed, with the crazy fans showering unadulterated love, affection, and attention on them. As such, any cricket event in the country usually evokes tremendous interest, and we all know how humongously popular the Indian Premier League (IPL) is with the millions of youngsters who simply adore the format and the cricketers wholeheartedly. The hype surrounding the IPL is extraordinary, as the teeming crowds thronging the stadiums amply demonstrate.
PC: Hindustan Times
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally emerging victorious after a long wait was met with euphoric celebrations not only in Bengaluru and Karnataka, from across the country as well as overseas destinations too. While the whole RCB fans were rejoicing with the hard-fought and thrilling victory, what ensued subsequently will leave a lifelong scar on the families whose loved ones paid the price for gross mismanagement and failure in planning the celebratory event. As the announcements were made about the victory celebration by the RCB management, the government and the law enforcement agencies should have sprung into action to assess the crowd that would be expected following the triumph. Prima facie, no planning was in place.
PC: The Indian Express
- Here, the organisers and the police department should have been categorical in impressing upon the RCB franchise and the state government about the magnitude of anticipated crowd turnout and the meticulous planning that ideally would be required to ensure smooth sailing. Reports suggest that the police’s apprehensions about the crowd management on such short notice were overruled by the powerful minister in the government. In hindsight, the celebrations could have been planned after a few days when the euphoric feelings of the fans had settled down a bit. What was the need and necessity to have the victory celebrations within hours of the finals being concluded? Confusion prevailed everywhere right from the tragic morning was apparent.
PC: Nation Now
- Knowing fully well that the capacity of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was inadequate to accommodate a gigantic crowd participation, why was another bigger venue not chosen for the purpose? One fails to understand why enough police personnel weren’t deployed for effective crowd control measures. What were the emergency response measures in place, like ambulances and medical staff? Why did the state government even go ahead with the celebrations rather than wait for the euphoria to settle down? And finally, why did such huge crowds throng the stadium, knowing fully well that the risk factor gets magnified and uncontrollable in the face of mounting pressure on logistics? Questions galore but no easy answers. The fact is that eleven lives were lost for no rhyme or reason. Who failed whom? Tragic and unfortunate.
