Children and Crowd Management in Schools

PREPAREDNESS ABOUT THIS ISSUE We Can Not Leave Everything to God tampedes at temples are not new government has made no Sto India. Often taking place at announcements as to how such festive times, these totally avoidable stampedes would be averted in the stampedes are grim reminders of the future. urgent need of crowd management at the institutional level in India. The One way to avoid such stampedes in most recent stampede that took place the future is to use the expertise of near a temple in Madhya Pradesh's the National Institute of Disaster Datia district during Navaratri Management (NIDM). The NIDM is festivities is no different. The death India's leading think tank active in toll from this totally avoidable the field of disaster management. It disaster stands at 115. This means that frequently draws lessons from past he tragedy at Ratnagarh Mata 115 lives could have been spared a disasters in India and around the Ttemple in Datia on 13th gory end if there was effective crowd world. Most recently it had organised October 2013 served as a grim management. It seems that an a national workshop to learn lessons reminder of India's vulnerability to important activity like crowd from the Uttarakhand floods. Many stampedes. This vulnerability management at temples has been left of its lesson learning events are put underscores the need for effective to the Gods. out into scholarly publications. What crowd management at all levels in the NIDM can now do is to be the country. Perhaps the greatest irony is the fact proactive and find ways to anticipate that Cyclone Phailin that hit the disasters such as for example a This issue of Southasiadisasters.net coastal parts of Odisha and Andhra stampede at Tajmahal or a fire at is devoted to the theme of Crowd Pradesh almost at the same time as Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat and Management. The concept of crowd the stampede at Datia, claimed only offer scenarios for preparedness and management is particularly a third of the total number of lives response. There is an urgent need for important for a country like India lost in the Datia stampede. This points scenario based contingency planning that witnesses a huge number of to the disconcerting fact that while in India and NIDM can offer tools, public gatherings at religious sites, we possess the capacity to respond to trainings and methods to fulfil this political gatherings, etc. However, natural hazards, the same capacity is need. there is no concerted policy on missing when it comes to responding Crowd Management in India. It to manmade hazards. While the real Another way to avoid such stampedes seems that the important issue of reason of the stampede is yet to be in future is to better utilise the Crowd Management has been left determined, unconfirmed reports National Disaster Management to the gods to manage. suggest that the stampede took place Authority (NDMA), India's apex as some people were trying to jump authority in disaster management Replete with views of experts from the queue and police used batons to with the Prime Minister as its Chair. the field of disaster management, control them. The NDMA has developed a policy this issue provides vital information study with the prestigious Indian on Crowd Management policies, The state government with the Institute of Management Ahmedabad practices and procedures. A list of approval of the state election (IIMA) on crowd management. The major stampedes in India has also commission has wasted no time in study is in public domain. What the been included. announcing an ex gratia of Rs. 1.5 lakh NDMA can do is to hold public to the kin of those killed in the consultations on the Full of insightful articles on Crowd stampede. The government has also recommendation of the study with Management and associated areas, announced an assistance of Rs. 50,000 state authorities and quickly turn the this issue highlights the importance for those who suffered major injuries study into national guidelines for of Crowd Management in the field and Rs. 25,000 to those who suffered managing crowds at religious places. of disaster risk reduction. minor injuries. However, the state Such national guidelines may include 2 southasiadisasters.net March 2014 response strategy, implementation plan, operational support plan and preparedness plan. A budget must also be allocated to make these plans operational. United Nations Children' s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children (SC) in India held such contingency planning trainings for civil society organisations and authorities in Assam and Bihar in 2012. It was found a broader involvement of citizens in the process made the plan better in terms of effectiveness. Essentially, any contingency planning ought to make all voices count. There is a third way to avoid such stampedes in future. The State Source: Nayi Duniya. Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in Madhya Pradesh has made contingencies; third, building various success decentralised district planning several useful initiatives in the past scenarios; fourth, preparation of a in key states with such up-to-date including involving graduate contingency plan; and last, taking processes and technologies. students to draw up initial District preparedness actions and updating Disaster Management Plans (DDMPs) plans. Now contingency planning is There is yet one more way to avoid where all the involved stakeholders not new to India. Our District such stampedes in future. The District benefitted from the process and a Collectors have done so even before Disaster Management Authorities better quality product—an up-to-date independence of India. However, this (DDMA) in India are mostly a name, plan—came out. The SDMA can do traditional practice needs to be may be with a table and a clerk but similar exercise to review revived and be embedded in the without any budget or team. With contingency planning in such administrative apparatus with up to United Nations Development temples and mosques in the state. This date processes, contexts and Programme (UNDP) and NDMA help will involve five basic steps. First, technologies. Dr. Ashok Khosla, almost all DDMA have DDMPs. A enlisting hazards and conducting risk chairman of Development national audit must be carried out to analysis; second, prioritising Alternatives, has initiated with review if the DDMPs have included Crowd Management into their plan and how well it is addressed. A national review of these plans can be overseen by a Task Force set up by the NDMA in a time bound manner. Citizens, of all religious background, must not only offer prayers to their respective Gods but also a line in writing to the temple or mosque authorities to start thinking about ways to plan and implement disaster management measures that include Crowd Management. This is in the interest of the citizens. Devotees cannot leave everything to God. God wants us to surrender our pride and Source: AP Photo ego—but not our preparedness—to Stampede on a bridge across the Sindh River in Datia district in Madhya Pradesh His mercy. state, India. – Mihir R. Bhatt March 2014 southasiadisasters.net 3 CROWD MANAGEMENT Assam Jatiya Vidyalaya: A Case of Crowd Management at Schools he All India Disaster Mitigation roles and responsibilities assigned • As soon as the evacuation started TInstitute's (AIDMI) work with among the teachers and students. some of the students were seen four schools in Kamrup (Metro) After all the formalities completed, confused of using which staircase district in Assam has provided some at 1.15 pm the Principal of the school to evacuate to the safe space. key learning in this direction. One of as the incident commander signalled the schools selected was Assam Jatiya the bell-ringer for an alarm to The management of the school after Vidyalaya situated in Noonmati, indicate an earthquake has come. proper analysis discussed these issues Guwahati for the intervention of Everyone inside the classrooms with the school community and plan enhancing school safety and establish practiced Drop-Cover-Hold during out systematically the way to divert it as a "Model School" under "Model the earthquake shaking (the alarm the crowd to each staircase. The class SDMP implementation Project". The continued for 30 seconds) and teachers were briefed about their school is a vernacular medium following which all the students respective class-wise evacuation plan private school run by a trust. It has a along with their class teachers and a second attempt of evacuation huge infrastructure with multistoried evacuated through the established drill was simulated. This time the buildings and more than 1000 evacuation routes using the three crowd was much organized and took enrollments. staircases to the school playground less time to evacuate to the safe space. (the identified safe space). On 25th of January, 2014, AIDMI The above findings brought us to the resource persons with the help of the After the first attempt of evacuation conclusion that though the school was school management conducted a the following points came up as having its established evacuation plan mass evacuation mock drill in the matter of concern- and marked routes but they did not school to test the evacuation • It was observed that despite put much importance to the aspect of preparedness and the efficacy of the being having three staircases, crowd management. The fact lies here established evacuation routes. The most of the crowd tried to is that only with systematic crowd evacuation drill was conducted with evacuate through the commonly management planning we can have 1267 students and more than 50 used staircase (the staircase that effective and fast evacuation with teachers. The school community was is present in the middle of the L- minimum causalities.

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