Gods,menandmeremortals:organisationandsafetyattheKumbhMelaIn2013’sKumbhMelaatAllahabad,nearly120millionpeoplegatheredover55daysinatemporarycityof20sqkm.Inthisphotoessay,RohitSinhacapturestheevent,partofUNESCO’sRepresentativeListofIntangibleCulturalHeritageofHumanity,whiledescribinghowthecityisbuiltandwhatkeepsittogether.
Whatisthenatureofamasshumangathering?Doesitsessencelieinthedynamismofindividualsmovingthroughthesystemorisanoverarchingcoordinationstructurenecessarytomakeitflourish?Toanswerthesequestions,IheadedtotheAllahabadKumbhMelainearly2013.Widelyconsideredtobethelargestpeacefulgatheringonearth,anestimated120millionpeoplevisitedthebanksoftheRiverGangaoveraperiodof55days.
PanoramaofthefestivalcityonthebanksoftheRiverGangaatdawn.
Thesheermagnitudeofthetemporarycity,builtalongtheriverbanks,isjawdropping.Duringthemela,thecityisteemingwithmillionsenteringandexitingeveryday.Thecityisdividedintosectors,eachwithitsownpolicestation,hospital,firestation,publicconveniencesanddrinkingwatersupply.Economicactivity–merchantsandtradeshops–linethestreetsofthetemporarycityasiftheywerealwaystheretobeginwith.Toputitinperspective,thecityaccommodatesafloatingpopulationofalmostthesizeofMexico’spopulation,campinginanareaof20sq.km.
South Asia @ LSE: Gods, men and mere mortals: organisation and safety at the Kumbh Mela Page 1 of 7
Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/07/05/gods-men-and-mere-mortals-organisation-and-safety-at-the-kumbh-mela/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Portraitofpilgrimsellinggarlandsandflowersasofferings.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
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Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Crossingthepontoonbridgefromonesideofthebanktotheother.Severalpontoonbridgesofatleast500mlongweresetuptoallowthemovementofpilgrimsacrossthedifferentbathingpoints.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
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Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Groupsofpilgrimswaitinginaqueuetobeallocatedacampsite.
Whatmakesthiswork,andkeepsitfromfallingapart?Whenonefirstentersthecity,itishardtoshakeoffthefeelingofhowfragileeverythingis.Thereisanunsettlingfeelingasyouwalkaround.ThesymbolsandartefactsofHindureligionareubiquitous,andsoarelargecongregationsofpilgrims.Itisnothardtoworrythatapotentialcrisesrangingfrompublichealthandsanitation(diseaseoutbreak)tosafety(fireandstampedes)challengescoulddisruptthecityandplungeitintochaos.
However,onceyoursensesacclimatise,theorganisingfeaturestypicaltoawell-administeredareabecomevisible.Therearesignboardsthatmarktheimportantlandmarksofeverysector,volunteersguidingpilgrims,emergencynumbersclearlydisplayedatvantagepoints,motorcycleswithfirefightingequipment,andpolicemenmountedonhorseskeepingawatchfuleyeonthecrowd.Preparationsofsettingupafunctionalcity—theprovisionofpublicservices,utilities,andsecurityapparatus—areputintoplacebytheGovernmentofIndiathreemonthspriortothefestival.Considerableresourcesareinvestedbythegovernmenttomakethisfestivalanincident-freeexercise,anditstandsoutforitstrackrecordonsafetyandmanagement.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
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Thesheerenormityofthefestivalposessignificantplanningandlogisticalchallengeforthegovernment.Exploringitsmanagementandexecutionholdsvaluablelessonsformassgatheringsinotherlocationsaroundtheworld.Mostoftheplanningaroundmassgatheringsfocusoncrowdcontrolanddisastermanagement.Theorganisersandpublichealthofficialsmaintainthestandardsofhealth,sanitisation,securityandsafetyforoveraperiodoftwomonths.
Morningcrowdsinoneofthebusystreetsofthefestivalcity.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
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Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Pilgrimsbyoneoftheghatsbytheriver,wheretheycongregatetomakeadipinthewatertowashofftheirsins.
Inaneventsuchasthekumbhmela,wherepilgrimscampforlongerperiodsontheriverbank,thereareconsiderablehealthrisksinvolved.Specialattentionneedstobepaidtodiseasesurveillance,infectioncontrol,waterandsanitation.Giventhatthefestivalisheldbytheriver,thereishighriskofwater-borneinfectionanddisease.Recognisingthepotentialcostsofadiseasebreakout,theIndiangovernmentallocated45percentofitsfestivalbudgettohealthin2013.Escalationguidelinesweresetinplacetoidentifyandisolatesickpatientstopreventtheoutbreakofanepidemic.Carewastakentoprovidepipedwatersources,separatelyfortoiletsandkitchens.Themeasurestakentoimprovehealthandsanitationwerereflectedintheoutcomesinthedata–onlyone-tenthoftheillnesseswereduetodiarrhoea.
TheadministrationoftheKumbhMelaisanexcellentexampleofwhatstrongplanningandmanagementcanachieve,especiallyinthecontextofadevelopingcountry.Itsexecutionshouldbedocumented,studiedandevaluatedindetailtoenablelearningsthatcaninformplanningforothermassgatherings.Thegovernmentadministrationhasdemonstratedsignificantcapacitytoundertakethisfestivalpeacefullyandsuccessfullyovertheyears,afeatthatmustbeemulated.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
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Thefestivalcityaftermidnight.ThecityaccommodatesafloatingpopulationofalmostthesizeofMexico’spopulation,campinginanareaof20sq.km.
Thisarticlegivestheviewsoftheauthors,andnotthepositionoftheSouthAsia@LSEblog,noroftheLondonSchoolofEconomics.Pleasereadourcommentspolicybeforeposting.
AboutThePhotogtapher
RohitSinhaisafirst-yearstudentintheMastersofPublicAdministration(MPA)programatLSE.HehasadvisedMembers’ofParliamentinIndiaandisinterestedintheintersectionofpoliticsandeconomicsincontemporarysociety.Hetweets@rohitrrs.
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Date originally posted: 2018-07-05
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/07/05/gods-men-and-mere-mortals-organisation-and-safety-at-the-kumbh-mela/
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