By Hari Jaisingh

Crowds gather for reasons as old as human history – for faith, music, justice, and celebration. But tragedy can slip in unnoticed when the line between order and disorder blurs.

On February 15, a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station claimed 18 lives. Devotees, eager to reach Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh Mela, found themselves trapped in a system that failed them. Trains were late. Platforms were unclear. Security presence was thin.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) acknowledged that a platform change led to the chaos. However, the railways minister continues to dismiss this.

According to the RPF report, at around 8:45 PM, an announcement was made that the Kumbh Special train to Prayagraj would depart from Platform 12. Shortly after, another announcement redirected passengers to Platform 16, causing confusion and triggering the stampede.

As passengers rushed to change platforms, those climbing the stairs from Platforms 12-13 and 14-15 collided with crowds descending from other trains. In the panic, people slipped and fell on the stairs. With nowhere to go, others trampled over them, turning confusion into catastrophe.

The Railways announced compensation of ?10 lakh for the families of the deceased and between ?1-2.5 lakh for the injured.

However, the manner in which these payments were made has raised concerns.

Grieving families were approached at the mortuary by a 3-member Railways team. After identifying their loved ones, they were subjected to an on-the-spot verification, where officials checked and kept copies of their identification documents.

Then, in cash, they were handed the compensation money – ?10 lakh – along with the body. Immediately after, they were hurried back to their hometowns under police escort. One family member recounted:

“They handed me the body and a railway official gave me ?10 lakh in cash. They then rushed me towards an ambulance and sent a cop along. I was not allowed to talk to the media around and was told to take the body home.”

In response to the tragedy, paramilitary forces have been deployed at the station to control crowds.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has devised a peculiar plan: removing promotional material from stations to discourage people from traveling to the Kumbh Mela.

This was not the first catastrophe of this kind and will not be the last unless something fundamental changes.

Crowd safety is not simply about responding to disaster – it is about preventing it, and prevention requires more than wishful thinking. It demands structure, layers of protection, and a system that does not collapse when one element falters.

Swiss cheese model of crowd safety

Imagine a series of slices of Swiss cheese stacked together.

Each slice represents a layer of safety: regulations, planning, operational control, community preparedness, and emergency response.

No single layer is perfect; each has holes and weaknesses where failure can slip through.

But those holes do not form a straight path to disaster when multiple layers align.

The failures in one layer are caught by the strengths of another.

We must approach crowd safety this way – not as a set of isolated measures but as an interconnected system.

Crowd disasters are never born from a single moment, a single misstep. They are the slow collision of many forces – some seen, some unseen – until the weight of neglect and miscalculation tips the balance into chaos.

The danger lies within, in the panic, confusion, and individual behaviours that, in isolation, mean little but together become detrimental. It lurks outside too, in the cracks of failing infrastructure, the absence of clear exits, and the apathy of poor planning.

When these forces converge, and when every gap aligns like pieces of a broken puzzle, disaster is no longer a possibility. It is inevitable.

Preventing such tragedies demands a system designed to catch failures before they compound. This is where a multi-layered approach becomes essential, with each layer a safeguard and each precaution a barrier against disaster.

Let us call it the five layers of protection that stand between order and chaos, between life and loss. These are:

1. Regulations and Policymaking: Strong, enforceable safety laws are the foundation. Governments must set clear crowd management policies, ensuring venues meet safety standards and have strict capacity limits. These laws must be upheld – not just written.

2. Planning and Risk Assessment: Every gathering must be approached with meticulous foresight. Risk assessments must anticipate bottlenecks, analyse patterns of crowd movement, and create clear emergency protocols. This is not optional; it is survival.

3. Operational Control: Trained personnel, real-time monitoring, and controlled entry points are necessities. A crowded space without structured management is an accident waiting to happen.

4. Community Preparedness: The public is often the last line of defense. Educating attendees about emergency procedures, expected behaviour, and self-protection strategies can prevent panic. People must not just be participants; they must be partners in safety.

5. Incident Response and Impact Mitigation: When disaster strikes, the response must be immediate. Paramedics, security teams, and communication networks must function seamlessly. Every second matters. Delayed action, as seen in New Delhi, can mean the difference between life and death.

In addition, technology can offer powerful solutions. AI-driven surveillance can monitor crowd density, alerting organizers before a surge becomes dangerous. Mobile apps can provide real-time updates, directing people to safer exits. Simulation models can predict crowd flow, allowing planners to adjust layouts in advance. We have the tools if only we choose to use them.

Safety is seen as the responsibility of officials alone. However, a crowd is made up of individuals, and individuals who understand safety are less likely to contribute to disaster. Public awareness campaigns must be widespread, ensuring that people know how to react in an emergency, how to move, and how to look for exits. A safety culture must become second nature.

There is no single solution and no perfect safety measure.

However, there is a singular goal: a world where no one dies because a gathering became a death trap.

This requires commitment, coordination, and the acknowledgment that tragedies like New Delhi, Prayagraj, and so many others are not inevitabilities. They are failures of planning, foresight, and respect for human life.

A safer future is possible, but only if we build it – layer by layer. ####