A tragic day for cricket

It is perhaps the unkindest cut and beyond comprehension. It is a tragedy that has shaken the nation because of its magnitude. It was caused by a large crowd that had gathered to participate in a celebration by their cricket icons. But then, realistically speaking, it is not that celebrations have never turned into tragedies in India. We have had many instances of deaths stemming from stampedes created by die-hard fans of celebrities from the film industry out to see their heroes in life and blood. It happened at a venue where Shah Rukh Khan was to arrive, and closer home fans of actor Allu Arjun created a stampede when he was to visit Sandhya theatre in Hyderabad, which was having a special screening of his Pushpa 2 The Rule. This resulted in the death of a woman, while her young son is still to recover fully from the injuries he sustained because of the unruly crowd. Although there were no deaths, there was a massive turnout of fans when Salman Khan was in Hyderabad for the inauguration of an optical shop on a busy road in the heart of the city.
However, the tragedy that struck M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon is too tragic. In an unexpected development, thousands of fans gathered outside the stadium, which was to celebrate the maiden IPL title triumph of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), which they did in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Even though nearly 11 deaths (including that of a six-year-old girl) have been confirmed by the authorities at Bowring Hospital in Shivajinagar, and Vaidehi Hospital on Mallya Road, the toll may increase as some of the injured are in critical condition. The chaos created by the fans, who wanted to catch a close glimpse of their idol Virat Kohli and all RCB players, forced police personnel to resort to mild lathi-charge, which, ostensibly aggravated the situation with the fans running helter-skelter, while trying to exit from the gates that were kept open for the celebrations. Amid the grief and shock at the tragic developments, there are many things for one to ponder. It is a different matter altogether that the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar condoled the deaths and expressed their sorrow and grief as did the entire nation.
All hell broke loose after a brief speech by Kohli, and team skipper Rajat Patidar held aloft the glittering Cup, which was followed by a lap of honour around the stadium by the victorious team. How did this suddenly result in a chaotic situation remains unexplainable. Were enough precautions taken by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the special felicitation ceremony inside and outside the stadium remains debatable. Did they deploy a more than normal security cover in the vicinity, given the list of celebrities expected to grace the occasion? In a way, the entire episode exposes the chinks in the police armour and those of the civic authorities. The police wing was found wanting as it failed to control a crowd that was expected to be sizeable given that the local favourites were coming home with the coveted trophy for the first time in 18 years. This incident also exposes the absurd crowd management skills of the police and official machinery. The deputy chief minister asking people not to blame the police for this mishap is a sheepish self-defence tactic. All officials responsible for this tragedy must be made accountable and punished suitably, given that there have been quite a few deaths on a sad day for cricket.

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