Stampede: 3 theories, no answers

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Allahabad: A day after the stampede at Allahabad railway station that claimed 36 lives on Sunday, a blame game has begun with authorities trying to pass the buck on the exact triggering factor that led to the tragedy.
While the UP government has blamed the collapse of a rail overbridge, the Railways has stoutly denied any collapse of the bridge; instead, Railways has blamed poor crowd management and overcrowding as the causes behind the stampede.
However, eyewitnesses say that a lathicharge by the police led to the stampede. Some said there was a VIP train that came in and this led to a sudden change of the timings of other trains that led to overcrowding.
Railway Minister Pawan Bansal said on Monday that the CCTV footage at the spot would be examined to ascertain the reasons behind the tragedy. He also announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to the next of kin of the deceased.
The Railways has announced helpline numbers. According to Indian Railways, the helpline numbers for Delhi are:  011-23342954  , 23341074, and 24357660; the Allahabad helpline numbers are: 0532-1072,  0532-2408149  , 2408128, 2407353; at Kanpur, the number is 0512-2327018  . 

Policemen and rescuers carry the body of a victim of stampede at Allahabad train station.
 
Several eyewitnesses said there was a lathicharge by the police that compounded the panic but Divisional Railway Manager Harinder Rao claimed passengers were not baton charged and that police only attempted to regulate the movement of the crowd at the platforms by asking passengers to stand in line.
Those who managed to escape from the tragedy with minor bruises gave divergent accounts of what could have triggered the stampede at around 7 PM yesterday.
Ajay Kumar from Banda said, "We were told that our train will be available at platform number 4. While crossing the foot over-bridge, we heard an announcement over the loudspeaker that the train will be coming on platform number 6.
We started running back, trying to plough through a huge crowd headed in the opposite direction. In the process, some of the people tripped and people started falling over each other," he said. However, Praveen from Sonepat in Haryana blames the incident on "lathicharge by police".
Praveen said, "There was a very huge crowd trying to descend from the over-bridge to catch their train on platform number 6. Unable to handle the situation, policemen began wielding their batons. Had they acted more sensibly, the stampede could have been avoided".
The allegation of baton charge has, however, been denied by both Divisional Railway Manager Harindra Rao and DIG (Railway) Lalji Shukla. Meanwhile, the railway station is once again teeming with people waiting for the earliest possible opportunity to catch a train that could take them safely to their homes.
Movement of passengers had yesterday been suspended for a few hours to facilitate the rescue operations. However, the trail of the destruction that people suffered in their quest for salvation appears evident at the portion of the foot over-bridge leading to the ill-fated platform with heaps of slippers, luggage, water bottles and bangles lying strewn in a grim reminder of the bathing festival at the ongoing Kumbh Mela.
Meanwhile, grief seems to be giving way to rage among survivors of the Allahabad Railway Station stampede here as officials on Monday faced a tough time pacifying family members of those declared dead or undergoing treatment for injuries.At the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in the city where at least 25 injured persons are admitted, some of them in a critical condition, Divisional Commissioner of Allahabad Devesh Chaturvedi and Dr S P Singh, Principal of Motilal Nehru Medical College to which the hospital is attached, were gheraoed by people angry over "lack of proper care and facilities".
The officials, who had visited the hospital to take stock of the relief work, had a tough time assuaging the frayed tempers.
Some of the bereaved people complained teary-eyed that they were being prevented from taking away the bodies of their near and dear ones.The official requested them to "have patience till the post-mortem and other formalities" were complete. Similar scenes were witnessed at the Railway hospital, situated close to the station, where 14 others who have sustained injuries in the stampede that had occurred near platform number 6, are undergoing treatment.

A man weeps as he holds his wife who was killed in a stampede on a railway platform as other bodies are seen beside at the main railway station in Allahabad.
 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had condoled the loss of lives in the tragedy and instructed Railway ministry to provide all possible assistance.
Singh also directed Central government departments to extend all possible help to Uttar Pradesh government in relief operations.
The UP government ordered an inquiry into the stampede and asked the Railways to make proper arrangements to clear rush of devotees and sanctioned an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the kin of each of the dead persons.
Meanwhile, the BJP and JD(U) slammed the UP government and the Centre for the shoddy way in which the whole incident was addressed. UP Chief Minister Akilesh Yadav termed the tragedy unfortunate and said relief operations are in full swing.
The stampede occurred at 7 PM yesterday at Platforms No 5 and 6 where thousands of passengers, mostly Maha Kumbh devotees returning after taking the holy dip at the Sangam, had gathered to board a train.