A BIG headload being carried by a passenger fell on others, causing the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on February 15 in which 18 people were killed, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha Friday, citing a probe report.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
He said that a high-level inquiry committee constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the stampede has submitted its report.
“As per the findings of the report, an unfortunate incident on 15.02.25 happened on Foot Over Bridge (FOB)-3 stairs connecting Platform 14/15 at New Delhi Railway Station. On the day of the incident, sufficient crowd management protocols were in place to handle the overall volume of passengers at the station. There was a gradual increase of passenger density on the FOB after 20.15 hrs,” said Vaishnaw in a written reply to questions asked by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman.
Passengers were trying to board Prayagraj-bound trains for the Mahakumbh when the incident occurred.
Sharing the findings of the probe report, Vaishnaw said, “Many of the passengers were carrying big headloads affecting smooth movement on the FOB. There was a big headload falling from one of the passengers and the pressure was passed on to the stairs of PF 14/15 stairs resulting in the tripping of passengers on the stairs. This led to an incident at 20.48 hrs on FOB-3, which was limited to the stairs of FOB. Consequently, passengers fell on each other. In the incident, 18 people lost their lives and 15 others were injured.”
In March this year, the Railway Minister had told the Lok Sabha that on the day of the stampede the total ticket sold was 49,000 – 13,000 more than the daily average tickets sold over the previous six months.
Of the 18 people who died in the stampede, 11 were women and four children. Eyewitnesses had alleged that the stampede took place because of “lack of crowd management” at a time when a large number of people were trying to board the Prayagraj-bound trains. Following the incident, five senior officers, including the Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi, were transferred.
Story continues below this ad
In his written reply on Friday, Vaishnaw said that several measures have been taken after the incident to handle heavy rush at the stations. A total of 73 stations have been identified where permanent holding areas will be created. Pilot projects have started at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Ghaziabad stations.
“Two new designs of 12 metre wide (40 feet) and 6 metre wide (20 feet) standard FOB have been developed. These wide FOBs with ramps were very effective in crowd management during Mahakumbh. These new standard wide FOBs will be installed in all the stations. All major stations will have a senior officer as Station Director. All other departments will report to the Station Director. Station Director will get financial empowerment so that he can take on-the-spot decisions for improving the station,” the minister said.
