‘We are not terribly good at crowd control’: Shashi Tharoor on Bengaluru stampede tragedy

Bengaluru Stampede: Calling the Bengaluru stampede 'absolutely tragic', Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that we (Indians) are not terribly good at crowd control.

Also Read: Bengaluru stampede kills 11: ‘Crowd 3 times larger than expected stormed venue’ | What went wrong?

Stampede broke out outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) win in the IPL final and claimed the lives of 11 and injured 30 others.

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“I think it’s absolutely tragic. I mean, you know, the saddest thing about the excitement and buzz of our population is that we are not terribly good at crowd control - whether it’s in melas or festivals, whether it’s in religious gatherings, or in this case, a cricket celebration. When you read of a loss of life, you feel such sadness because this is so unnecessary. I just can’t say more than that, other than my heart really goes out to the families.”

After the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference and said 11 people died and 33 were injured in the stampede.

Also Read: ‘People are dying’: Visuals from Bengaluru stampede-like situation show chaotic scenes unravel at Chinnaswamy | Watch

CM Siddaramaiah said that the government will also provide free treatment to the injured.

"A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured," he added.

Noting that the stadium has a capacity for 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people had come, Siddaramaiah said, “The match happened last evening (Tuesday) and today this event was organised by the cricket association, so no one had expected that so many people would come. The expectation was the equivalent number of people for the stadium's capacity or slightly more than that may gather.”

At 11:56 AM on Wednesday, the Bengaluru Traffic Police announced that there would be no victory parade, only a felicitation ceremony at the stadium.

Also Read: Bengaluru stampede: Virat Kohli, in first reaction, says he is ‘absolutely gutted’

However, contradicting this, the RCB team management declared at 3:14 PM that a victory parade would indeed take place at 5 PM.

“Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium. We request all fans to follow guidelines set by police and other authorities so that everyone can enjoy the roadshow peacefully. Free passes (limited entry) available on shop.royalchallengers.com,” it said in a post on X.

This left the fans confused about whether a parade would be conducted or not.

Bengaluru erupted in midnight celebrations after their team, RCB, who posted a total of 190/9, successfully restricted Punjab to 184/7, clinching a historic victory.

(With inputs from PTI)