Answer

Crowd crushes occur when high-density gatherings lead to suffocation and fatal trampling, often triggered by panic or mismanagement. Despite advancements in crowd science, tragedies like the 2025 Prayagraj Mahakumbh crush persist. Failures in planning, enforcement, and real-time monitoring highlight systemic gaps in crowd management strategies, demanding a critical examination of their persistent inefficacy. 

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Reasons Why Crowd Crushes Continue to Occur Frequently

• High Crowd Densities: When crowd densities exceed seven persons per square meter, the risk of fatalities rises. Limited space and improper planning often lead to dangerous bottlenecks, making it impossible for individuals to escape.
  For example: The Maha Kumbh 2025 tragedy occurred due to a barrier restricting movement, leading to compression and fatalities.
• Limited Individual Control: Once a crowd reaches a critical density, individuals cannot influence movement, breathe properly, or even remain upright, leading to trampling and suffocation.
  For example: In the 2022 Itaewon Halloween disaster(South Korea), victims were unable to move as they were tightly packed in narrow alleys.
• Underestimation of Risks: Authorities often view crowd movements as spontaneous rather than scientifically predictable, leading to poor planning and slow responses.
  For example: The Astroworld Festival 2021 in Texas failed to control the crowd surge, causing multiple deaths and injuries.
• Lack of Segmentation Measures: Dividing large crowds into smaller, controlled groups significantly reduces risk, but this is rarely enforced at large events.
  For example: Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration segments crowds into 100-person zones, effectively preventing surges.
• Delayed Emergency Responses: Medical aid and security forces often struggle to reach victims due to overcrowding, leading to higher casualties.
  For example: In the 2023 Yemen charity event, slow emergency response led to dozens of deaths before aid arrived.

Reasons Behind the Failure to Implement Effective Crowd Management Strategies

• Economic Incentives for Overcrowding: Event organizers prioritize profits over safety, packing venues beyond safe capacity to maximize revenue from tickets, food, and merchandise.
  For example: The Love Parade 2010 disaster in Germany resulted from overcrowding as organizers sought maximum attendance despite safety concerns.
• Lack of Legal Mandates: Many countries lack laws requiring crowd safety measures, leading to negligence in planning and minimal enforcement of best practices.
  For example: In Nigeria 2024, absence of crowd control regulations contributed to a fatal religious festival stampede.
• Poor Coordination Between Stakeholders: Effective crowd management requires cooperation among local governments, event organizers, and security personnel, which is often lacking due to bureaucratic inefficiencies.
  For example: The 2021 Hajj stampede in Mecca occurred partly due to poor coordination between security officials and event planners.
• Inadequate Use of Technology: Modern surveillance, AI-based crowd prediction models, and real-time density monitoring can prevent crushes, but they are not widely adopted.
  For example: Tokyo Olympics 2021 used AI-driven crowd monitoring, successfully preventing overcrowding at key venues.
• Cultural and Political Barriers: Religious and political events often resist strict crowd control measures due to public sentiment, political pressures, or religious sensitivities.

Way Forward to Improve Crowd Management

• Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) Analysis: This methodology involves rating every possible hazard on the dimensions of Severity, Frequency of Occurrence, and Difficulty of detection on a scale of 1-10 to arrive at an overall Risk Priority Number (RPN), which can help in better prediction and analysis.
• Adoption of Smart Surveillance: AI-powered real-time density tracking and automated alerts should be implemented at high-risk locations to prevent dangerous crowd formations.
  For example: The Kumbh Mela 2019 used AI-based crowd monitoring, significantly reducing overcrowding incidents.
• Pre-event Risk Assessments: Authorities must conduct simulations and identify high-risk zones before large events to proactively address bottlenecks and ensure adequate escape routes.
  For example: The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar used detailed risk mapping, preventing major crowd incidents.
• Public Awareness and Training: Educating event staff, security personnel, and attendees about crowd safety protocols can improve response times and reduce panic-induced surges.
  For example: Japan regularly conducts public disaster simulation drills, helping reduce casualties during events and natural disasters.
• Enforcement of Crowd Segmentation: Event organizers should implement barriers to create smaller, manageable crowd sections, preventing surges.
  For example: The New Year’s Eve Times Square model should be replicated at religious and political gatherings to minimize risks.

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Implementing comprehensive crowd management strategies, including strict legal regulations as mentioned in NDMA Act(2005), adoption of smart surveillance, and public awareness campaigns, is essential to prevent future tragedies. Proactive measures can significantly reduce the risk of crowd crushes, ensuring public safety during large gatherings.

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