Why in the news?Â
Recently a platform at Delhi’s Kalkaji temple collapsed leading to injuries to many people including one death.Â
About Crowd Disaster:
- A crowd is a group of people gathered together usually for a common purpose based upon emotions.Â
- Crowd movements involve a combination of voluntary and involuntary forces:Â
- Voluntary force: When crowd density is optimal, people’s movement is governed by social force (a physical response to a social interaction) which is a voluntary force.Â
- Involuntary: When crowd density is critical, people’s movement is governed by involuntary forces which includes pushing each other in a tightly packed situation.
- Such uncoordinated rush or push of people, may result in crowd disaster or stampede.Â
- Majority of the crowd disasters in India have occurred at religious places, venues of music concerts, night clubs and shopping malls.
Constitutional and Legal Provisions for Crowd Management:
- Article 19(1)(b): Guarantees the right to assemble peacefully and without arms.
- Article 19(3): Allows the government to impose reasonable restrictions on this right.Â
- Police Act of 1861: Lays down conditions for regulating lawful processions and assemblies to prevent public inconvenience.
- Disaster Management Act 2005: Deals with vehicular and human traffic, and other areas related to crowd management.
