‘Heartbreaking’: Anand Mahindra calls New Delhi railway station stampede a ‘national tragedy’, calls for action

After at least 18 people were killed in the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra called it a “national tragedy”.

Anand Mahindra said that crowd management should be made “a national mission”.

In a post on X, Anand Mahindra said, “This is heartbreaking. And a national tragedy. As the world’s most populous nation, with one of the lowest per capita incomes, we need to make crowd control & safety an article of faith & a national mission.”

“We need a template of crowd management that is a combination of Technology & Process Analysis. We all need to chip in. I request the Engineering and Management schools at Mahindra University, Hyderabad, to work on the problem jointly & devise such a template,” he added.

The tragedy occurred around 10 pm on Saturday night as thousands of passengers, many of them Maha Kumbh pilgrims, swarmed the station amid confusing train announcements.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, the incident occurred when a large number of passengers gathered on platform no 14, where the Prayagraj Express was stationed.

Additionally, delays in the departures of the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani led to further congestion at platforms 12, 13, and 14.

The stampede sparked widespread criticism of the central government, with Shiv Sena (UBT) calling for the resignation of the Union railway minister.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey told ANI: "It is very unfortunate that no one is able to stop the irresponsible behaviour of the Central government. Very big negligence has been made by the Railway Ministry and Central government officials."

"Instead of taking action against them and the Railway Minister giving his resignation, they are trying to cover it up...Till now, we don't know how many people lost their lives in the Maha Kumbh...Why is this happening with our Hindu brothers and sisters?... The Railway Minister should tender his resignation," Dubey added.