A day after 18 people were killed in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, industrialist Anand Mahindra said a structured national strategy to prevent such tragedies in the future was the need of the hour. Describing the incident as a “national tragedy,” the Mahindra Group chairperson said the country needed “to make crowd control and safety an article of faith and a national mission”.
“We need a template of crowd management that is a combination of technology & process analysis,” Mr Mahindra wrote on X. He also urged Mahindra University’s Engineering and Management schools to work together and develop a concrete plan for effective crowd control. “We all need to chip in,” he added.
This is heartbreaking.
And a national tragedy.
As the world’s most populous nation, with one of the lowest per capita incomes, we need to make crowd control & safety an article of faith & a national mission.
We need a template of crowd management that is a combination of… https://t.co/FqPspG2UFN
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 16, 2025
The stampede occurred around 10 pm on Saturday when thousands of devotees rushed to board a special train to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh. Eyewitnesses claimed people panicked after rumours spread that the Prayagraj Express would arrive at a different platform, leading to a sudden movement of people. But railway officials dismissed this claim, attributing the incident to overcrowding.
According to Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay, the situation escalated when passengers coming down from a foot-over bridge towards platforms 14 and 15 slipped and fell, triggering a domino effect. The situation worsened due to delays in the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani, leading to severe congestion at platforms 12, 15, and 16.
Most of the victims were brought to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where doctors confirmed chest and abdominal injuries, with asphyxia being the likely cause of death.
Indian Railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the dead, Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for minor injuries.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that a “high-level inquiry” had been ordered. A two-member inquiry committee, including Northern Railway’s PCCM Narsingh Deo and PCSC Pankaj Gangwar, has been formed to investigate the cause of the stampede.
Security at the railway station has been ramped up, with extra police deployment and ropes being used to regulate crowd movement as heavy footfall continues even hours after the tragedy.
