Today, in India’s run up to the next general elections, the
principal opposition held one of the largest ever rallies in Patna, the capital
of Indian state of Bihar. Social media counts and feedback from on the ground
indicate that there was anything over 1 million people at the venue ground.
There were a series of bomb blasts (5 in number as per
police reports) around the meeting venue, with subsequent information even
suggesting that there was a live bomb that was placed right under the dais,
from which the probable PM, Narendra Modi delivered the speech.
Yet, as would be in any such mammoth gathering in the
country, there was tremendous crowd control, and fortunately no stampede as a
panic aftermath of the blasts that rocked the area.
The organizers told the crowd through speakers that there
were celebratory crackers that were set off, and also urged people not to
resort to bursting crackers. Plus, the party cadre also urged the people to
stay put and not move helter-skelter.
All this, despite the party leaders/organizers knowing well
that there could be some casualties and damage owing to the bombs that were
going off.
Yet, realizing that any crowd surge towards the bomb spots
would lead to an uncontrollable situation and also loss of more lives, the organizers
used the cracker decoy.
While one may debate on the ifs and buts of such a handling,
it is truly praise worthy example of real-time crowd and crisis management.
Moral - seldom panic and think before managing a crowd when crisis hits.
No comments:
Post a Comment