Author: BR Haran
Publication: Uday India
Date: February 5, 2011
URL: http://www.udayindia.org/content_05feb2011/spotlight.html
Stamp Them Out
On the eve of Makara Sankranti and Pongal
festival, tragedy has struck Hindu pilgrims again. More than 100 Sabarimala
pilgrims have lost their precious lives due to a stampede caused by an accident
involving a jeep, which lost control and ploughed through the devotees returning
after witnessing the Makara Jyothi, which is the culmination of the Makaravilakku
festival. The loss of life was more, as the stampede happened in the dark
of the night after 8 pm and that too on the Ghat section in a place called
Pullumedu, which finds a place in the yet to be implemented "Sabarimala
Master Plan".
This is not the first time a stampede had
occurred in Sabarimala. On January 14, 1999, while the pilgrims pushed against
each other for a glimpse of Makara Jyothi from Pampa the river-bank base,
a stampede occurred and 52 devotees died. At that time itself Justice Chandrasekhara
Menon, who was appointed to probe the tragedy, strongly recommended in his
report that the Pullumedu route must be developed as a pilgrim-friendly section
by providing all basic amenities for a hassle-free pilgrimage, as the route
experiences increased flow of crowd every year.
It is almost 12 years since the submission
of Justice Chandrasekhara Menon's report, and both the UDF and LDF governments
have shown scant regards to the welfare of Sabarimala pilgrims. Ironically,
the Chief Minister has announced a judicial probe of the present tragedy too!
After sending the Justice Chandrasekhara Menon's report to the dustbin, the
Government of Kerala along with the central government, Ministry of Environment
and Forests, Travancore Devaswom Board and the Supreme Court of India approved
the "Sabarimala Master Plan" developed by IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd
way back in 2005. Committees have also been formed; everything is on papers,
but nothing in action.
The number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala
has been increasing every year. This year for the Mandala Puja season alone,
60 million devotees have visited the temple. The temple revenue also increases
accordingly. While last year's revenue of Sabarimala was Rs 125 crore (both
Mandala Puja and Makaravilakku Puja put together), this year it is expected
to improve by at least 20 to 30 per cent. The total revenue of the government
during the season is estimated to be Rs 2000 crore!
On the other hand, there is no dearth for
corruption and loot. While the sanitary condition is appalling with no proper
toilet facilities for the pilgrims; rampant fleecing by vendors, hotels and
restaurants; uncontrolled fleecing by bus operators; awful 'Sabari Specials'
by Railways; fleecing of devotees from abroad by airlines; terrible roads;
inadequate medical facilities and dreadful and arrogant behaviour by government
officials and staff are perennial problems faced by the pilgrims, there is
obviously an unholy nexus between the officials and contractors in looting
the pilgrims. The government doesn't seem to bother about the corruption going
on, as evidenced by the various government departments indulging in disputes
with each other.
The governmental lethargy and indifference can be seen everywhere across the
country. 147 devotees died in a stampede in the famous Chamunda Devi Temple
on a hillock in Jodhpur Rajasthan on October 01, 2008, the reason being lack
of facilities and improper mechanism to handle crowds. It happened during
the Navratri festival. On August 03, 2008, 258 pilgrims died due to a stampede
in Nainadevi Temple, Himachal Pradesh, again during festival time. In February
1992 during the Kumbakonam Mahamakam festival 49 devotees died due to a stampede
caused by the arrogant cinematic show of the then Chief Minister and her friend.
This is not restricted to temples and pilgrimage
centers alone. We have seen loss of lives due to stampedes in marriage halls,
schools and other places too. For example, 52 people died due to a stampede
caused by a fire accident in a marriage hall in Trichy in January 2003; 91
small children died in a Kumbakonam school in July 2004 and 39 people died
in a Yagasala outside Thanjavur's Big Temple in June 1997. The nation has
witnessed scores of such incidents in the last two decades. But, neither the
governments nor the people have learnt any lessons from them.
We must have a 'scientific' method of crowd
management and security arrangement. This would be possible only when a thorough
study is made with regards to the number of pilgrims, rate of increase in
the number of pilgrims, importance of the concerned festival and the sanctity
attached to it, duration of the festival, opening and closing times of the
temples, number of entry and exit points and the entire approach to the pilgrim
centers, etc. The technological advantages must also be utilised properly
apart from providing enough strength of police force, security guards and
home guards.
Apart from the general and basic issues, in
course of the analysis, one cannot help the feeling that both the central
and the state governments have deliberately shown indifference to Hindus and
the issues concerning their pilgrimage. The government provides all kinds
of support, from money to amenities, to Haj Pilgrims. The Andhra Pradesh government
was the first to subsidise Christians' "pilgrimage" to Jerusalem
and the same grant has been announced by both Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi
and the Christians can be rest assured that every other
government will follow suit. But the Hindu pilgrims are in fact taxed more!
And no government is willing to help and support Hindus' pilgrimages and no
politician has either the courage or the passion to voice his/her support
for the same.
This must be viewed in the backdrop of two
telling facts. One, Hindu temples and pilgrim centers are under the control
of the governments unlike Churches and Mosques. Two, Hindu temples and pilgrim
centers bring in huge revenue to the governments unlike the Haj and Jerusalem
pilgrimages which fetch revenue only to foreign governments.
Reaching the abode of Brahmma, the lotus feet
of Bhagwan is the ultimate wish of any faithful devotee. But dying in a pilgrim
center by stampede is extremely sad and painful. The central and state governments
must approach the issue with an open mind, realise their mistakes, understand
the magnitude of the problems and implement proper mechanisms for facilitating
peaceful pilgrimage and happy celebration of festivals for the devotees and
pilgrims, for human lives cannot be compensated with a few lakhs of rupees.
Otherwise, the governments must handover
the temples to Hindu bodies and autonomous boards, for India being a "secular"
country, government controlling Hindu Temples alone is unconstitutional. Even
while controlling the temples, the governments allow sacrilege, do not ensure
security and do not assure safety.
Safeguarding pilgrims and the pilgrimage centers
is a divine duty and Hindu dharmacharyas and dharmabimanis will certainly
do a better job than the 'secular' governments.
