By Ankur Sharma,News18,Oindrila Mukherjee

Copyright news18

A comprehensive study and SOPs will soon be released to regulate and monitor large-scale religious gatherings across India, following a series of several tragic incidents during such events.
This initiative comes on the suggestion of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who highlighted an urgent need for scientific crowd management, better preparedness, and use of indigenous technologies like drone surveillance, AI-based crowd density monitoring, and real-time communication systems during a high-level meeting convened by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
A senior official, who attended the meeting, said Shah instructed the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in coordination with State Police to conduct a study of various religious gatherings to understand the cause behind such accidents. Based on these findings, a standard operating procedure (SOP) will be drawn up for states to implement with monitoring by senior officers at police headquarters as well as SPs and deputy SPs in districts.
India, home to some of the world’s largest religious gatherings, has witnessed several tragic mishaps in recent months. This year, a crowd crush during the ‘Mauni Amavasya Snan’ at the Maha Kumbh Mela resulted in at least 30 deaths when barricades collapsed under pressure from a growing crowd of devotees.
The incident raised questions about entry-exit planning and the preparedness of security agencies at the event. Similarly, at least eight devotees were killed and more than 20 injured after panic spread at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar during a festival, with preliminary reports suggesting that a rumour of an electrical fault triggered the chaos.
Last year, a stampede in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh during a religious discourse led to 121 deaths. The gathering had far exceeded the permitted capacity, and subsequent inquiries led to the suspension of several police and local administration officials.
Officials said the proposed SOP will focus on capacity assessment of venues, regulated entry-exit points, deployment of trained crowd managers, integration of surveillance technology, and emergency medical response systems. States will be required to implement the framework with strict accountability measures.
“Religious congregations are deeply rooted in cultural fabric, but safety cannot be compromised. The SOP will ensure that these sacred gatherings remain occasions of faith and don’t turn into tragedies,” a senior government official said.