Behind the Kumbh melee

What the officials had done was barricade the entire city leaving just one administrative route open for official vehicles. This only created more tightly-packed enclosures of crowds.

Then again, while on August 17, pilgrims had been allowed to wait up to Yeshwantrao Maharaj Patangan, downstream of Ramkund, the Victoria Bridge and other places, this time they were pushed back till Ram Setu bridge further downstream. The same roads served for pilgrims to walk in both the directions.

The spot where the incident took place is a narrow lane leading from south door of Kalaram temple to Sardar Chowk, and running on towards the river. At Sardar Chowk, pilgrims returning after the holy dip, mainly elderly women, found themselves pushed back by people coming from the opposite direction.

While police are trying to sell the theory that the stampede was triggered when the crowd rushed to collect silver coins showered by a sadhu returning from the river, there are few buyers for it. The pilgrims point out that the spot had very few policemen and too many people pushing at the barricades. It took just one wave of incoming pilgrims to give a push, and the entire structure collapsed.

One-way routes for pilgrims as well as a continuous flow at the bathing area with separate entry and exit points might have gone a long way in averting the tragedy.

Five ambulances stationed in the bathing area also proved inadequate to handle the rush of the injured. Nashik Municipal Health Officer Anil Nikam says they called in four other ambulances from the Sadhugram, while nine health squads became active within minutes and shifted the victims to various hospitals.

About Rs 1.5 crore had been spent on creating health facilities near the holy spot and another Rs 1 crore on medicine stocks. ‘‘There were two dispensaries near that spot and a full-fledged 100-bed hospital within 300 metres,’’ Nikam says. In Sadhugram, at Tapovan near Panchavati, officials had set up four dispensaries and a 50-bed hospital.

An additional staff of 292, including 52 doctors and 144 nurses, had been appointed to run the health facilities created for the Mela. Apart from these, around 150 internees from medical colleges had been asked to help run the dispensaries and the hospitals, especially during the days of holy dip.

The new hospitals have treated about 14,000 patients over the past one month for minor ailments, including a rash of conjunctivitis. The officials had handled that crisis by asking the infected to remain indoors and take precautions. Medical Superintendent Dr Ravindra Dev says the plan worked perfectly.

However, what happened on Wednesday, agrees Nikam, didn’t figure in their scheme of things.