The Chinnaswamy Disaster: A Tragedy of Unimaginable Proportions

The events that unfolded outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday evening will haunt Bengaluru for a long time to come. The celebratory mood that gripped the city after Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL trophy for the first time rapidly gave way to tears and destroyed dreams.

The tragedy could have been avoided with better planning and communication. Instead, mixed messages abounded, and the promise of a victory parade on an open-top bus contributed to the congregation of over 100,000 fans. The stadium can house only 35,000 people, but three times that number gathered in the surrounding roads.

The sequence of events is unclear, but people began flocking to the venue from 1:00 pm. The Chinnaswamy was the culmination of the celebratory routine, which started at the Vidhana Soudha. The promise of a "victory parade" despite initial opposition from top police officials played a significant part in the events that followed.

As the squad's buses passed by the stadium around 3:15 pm, chants of "RCB RCB" and "Kohli Kohli" filled the air. By then, Queen's Road had been taken over by fans, and there was a sense of grim foreboding. The scene outside every gate was the same: hundreds waiting impatiently for the gates to open.

The tragedy unfolded when the gates were shut, and the crowd surged forward. People were trampled upon, and many didn't even realize what was happening. The sight of people carrying the unconscious in their arms or on their shoulders, running desperately to hospitals, was shattering.

The scene inside the stadium was different. Many managed to get in, but others weren't so fortunate. The RCB squad emerged on their balcony to parade the trophy, but the show was cut short. The tragedy was averted, but the damage was done.

Could this misfortune have been averted? For sure, with greater planning and more time to put processes in place. The unseemly haste in throwing this event together with little thought or consideration for public safety can't be ignored.