Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Sunday called the New Delhi Railway Station stampede a "national tragedy" and stressed the urgent need for a robust crowd management system. Reacting to the incident that left 18 dead and over a dozen injured, Mahindra proposed developing a comprehensive crowd control framework combining technology and process analysis.
"This is heartbreaking. And a national tragedy," Mahindra said in a tweet. "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 and a national mission. We need a template of crowd management that is a combination of Technology & Process Analysis."
In a proactive step, Mahindra called on the Engineering and Management schools at Mahindra University in Hyderabad to collaborate and devise a comprehensive crowd management template. "We all need to chip in," he added.
The deadly stampede occurred at New Delhi Railway Station late Saturday night as thousands of passengers rushed to board trains to Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh is underway. The incident happened on the foot-over bridge connecting platforms 14 and 15 when some passengers slipped and fell on others while descending the stairs.
Eyewitnesses described the station as severely overcrowded, with several passengers fainting due to suffocation. One passenger, Dharmendra Singh, recounted, "I was going to Prayagraj, but many trains were running late or were cancelled. The station was overcrowded. There were far more people than I have ever seen at this station. In front of me, six or seven women were taken away on stretchers."
Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer Himanshu Upadhyay said the Patna-bound Magadh Express was standing at platform 14, while the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was on platform 15 at the time of the incident. According to PTI, sources said wrong platform announcements and the sale of 1,500 general tickets every hour likely contributed to the chaos.
The Railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of those killed, Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries. Meanwhile, Delhi Police have launched an investigation, focusing on reviewing CCTV footage and verifying announcements made at the station during the stampede.
Officials suggested that the delay in train departures, coupled with the arrival of multiple trains at the same time, created a bottleneck on the crowded platforms. The Prayagraj Express, Swatantra Senani Express, and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express were all delayed, leading to an overwhelming surge of passengers at platforms 12, 13, and 14.