IT IS PROFIT FIRST, LIFE AND SAFETY SECOND

In India, the concept of safety in public spaces is absent

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stampede in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025, of 11 people who were part of a huge crowd that had gathered near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to celebrate the victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), after RCB’s first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2025, is a stark reminder of three issues. They are our national sense of disproportionate enthusiasm for victory; of government missionaries’ lack of preparedness to contain crowd movement, and of people’s sense of immortality. Despite knowing full well that such gatherings end as physically unsafe situations, we see people rush madly, throwing caution to the winds. Social media in particular and 24X7 visual media houses play a great role in adding much hype to these events. It is almost as if missing such an opportunity is akin to foregoing the most important part in one’s life.

The aim is profits

Cricket, especially in India, has become a great money-spinning industry. Hence, those in charge do everything possible to draw in large crowds. The risk that such gatherings pose is known. Every such event results in crowds of people who are far more in number than the capacity of the venues. More footfalls spell more profits for every one in the business.