Close to 27 people lost their lives in the unfortunate stampede at the Godavari Pushkar Ghat in Rajahmundry of Andhra Pradesh. This incident has once again highlighted the dangers of such mass congregations and how a small slip-up can result in a tragedy. Data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates that there have been a total of 2987 incidents of stampede in the country from 2001 to 2013 and 2243 people have lost their lives in these stampedes.
Year-wise Trends (2001-2013)
More than 100 people lost their lives because of stampedes in 6 of these 13 years. The highest number of incidents occurred in 2009 (1532 incidents). But the highest number of lives were lost in 2011 (489 deaths). In 2011, more than 100 people lost their lives in 3 states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Kerala). Over 400 people lost their lives in three different years, 2008 (434 deaths), 2011 (489 deaths) & 2013 (400 deaths). The least number of deaths occurred in 2006 (18 deaths). The average number of deaths per year in the last 6 years (2008-2013) is three times the average number of deaths in the first 7 years (2001-2007).
Male vs Female Deaths
In these 13 years, 1576 men lost their lives while 667 women lost their lives in incidents of stampede. Except in 2005, more men were killed than women each year. In 2005, 146 men and 200 women lost their lives. In 2008, there were 358 male deaths in comparison to 76 female deaths. In 2011, 412 men lost their lives compared to 77 women.
State-wise Trends
Andhra Pradesh tops the chart with 355 deaths during this period, closely followed by Maharashtra with 351 deaths. More than 100 people lost their lives in ten states during this period. Tamil Nadu (231 deaths), Rajasthan (216 deaths) and Madhya Pradesh (203 deaths) are in the top five.
Major Stampedes
- Maharashtra (2005): The Mandher Devi temple stampede occurred in January 2005, in Satara district of Maharashtra. More than 300 people lost their lives.
- Rajasthan (2008): A stampede occurred in September 2008, at the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. More than 200 people lost their lives.
- Himachal Pradesh (2008): The Naina Devi temple stampede occurred in August 2008 in Himachal Pradesh. More than 100 people lost their lives.
- Kerala (2011): The Sabarimala stampede occurred in January 2011, at Sabarimala in Kerala. More than 100 people lost their lives.
- Madhya Pradesh (2013): This stampede occurred during the festival of Navratri, near the Ratangarh Mata Temple in Madhya Pradesh. More than 100 people lost their lives.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
(Rakesh Dubbudu is the co-founder of Factly, which helps build data literacy.)
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