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| J&K Admin caught on wrong foot | | |
Strike by employees of Power Department and the stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra were avoidable crisis.
The incident at Katra could have been avoided had the crowd been managed properly. The scuffle that broke out between the two groups of pilgrims could have been prevented had the government deployed the crowd managers. But no steps were taken to ensure the safety of pilgrims and the crowd was allowed to swell. And it led to a tragedy.
The stampede at the shrine was the first tragedy in Katra during all these years. It could have been prevented had the measures been put in place. It led to 12 people losing their lives and many getting injured. The pilgrims were allowed without registration and there were no barricades to demarcate those going in and out of the sanctum sanctorum’s narrow gate. These are preventive measures that need to be taken at any point of time.
Another crisis that the J&K Government could have avoided was the strike of employees of the Power Department. The administration, despite being aware about the employees being unhappy and planning to go on a strike, didn’t make any attempt to negotiate with them. It allowed the situation to turn ugly as the strike led to the power disruption across the Union Territory. After the employees of the Power Department went on a strike, the J&K administration had to call in the Army to run the grid stations. It happened for the first time in J&K’s history that Army’s help was sought to provide electricity to the people.
According to the media reports New Delhi has taken a serious note of both the incidents. Had the J & K government acted swiftly the strike by Power Department employees could have been avoided and had the proper measures been put in place at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine stampede could have been avoided.
New Delhi expressing its dismay is a clear signal that it wants the helmsmen in J&K not to become complacent and ensure that the incidents that can be avoided should be prevented. The Centre has been on a mission to rebuild J&K after August 5, 2019—when it revoked the special status of the erstwhile princely state and divided it into two union territories—it doesn’t want such incidents to occur that can put the Union Territory on back foot. |
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