The Culture of Risk in Religious Mass Gatherings

• Two incidents in North India have highlighted the dangers of routine mass gatherings.

• Eight people died at Haridwar’s Mansa Devi shrine due to a rumor of a snapped power line.

• These incidents are triggered by fears of electrocution, despite makeshift wiring and overloaded transformers.

• The Haridwar probe is likely to reiterate older recommendations like underground cabling and real-time voltage monitoring.

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines for crowd-management often fail to be legally binding.

• Annual drills mandated under the Disaster Management Act are rarely held for regular worship.

• Authorities should deploy overhead LiDAR and AI cameras, conduct quarterly drills, and certify volunteers in basic life support and crowd psychology.