A stampede at a station in Delhi killed 18 people on Monday. The stampede was triggered by a rush of passengers at the New Delhi Railway Station. The last date of the Maha Kumbh is February 26. This means lakhs of devotees are still trying to reach the holy city to immerse themselves in the ‘sangam’, or the confluence of rivers. The Railways Ministry has announced a ‘complete overhaul’ of crowd-control measures and protocols across the country. These measures will include special ‘holding areas’ – with colour-coded sections and pathways for crowd movement – for 60 stations that usually see overcrowding. Of these 60, crowds at 35 stations connecting directly to Prayagraj will be monitored on a real-time basis by a centralised ‘war room’ As part of that ‘special monitoring’, Delhi’s railway stations will see over 200 new CCTV cameras set up. Delhi Police has deployed six Inspector-rank officers to oversee crowd management at NDLS.
