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A stampede-like situation at the Delhi Government’s Janta Darbar arose as more than the expected number of people reached the spot, Delhi Police today said as it maintained that better planning by the administration was as much required as stepping up of security.
“More than the expected number of people had thronged the venue which led to the chaos. Better planning is needed not just on the part of the police but also of the administration. Like people could be called subject-wise, area-wise or Ministry-wise. There needs to be a filter of some sort,” said a senior Delhi Police official on condition of anonymity.
The official said a large number of police personnel could be deployed and strict crowd control measures implemented from next time onwards but this would defeat the very idea of a public hearing.
“There were around 500 police personnel at the Delhi Secretariat for the public meeting other than around 400-500 personnel of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). We can deploy more security but then the real purpose of a ‘Janta Darbar’ would be lost as the common man would not be able to reach the Chief Minister or minister he or she wants to meet,” he said.
A major factor that caused the situation to go out of hand was that various unions and organised groups reached the meet. The event was for individuals whose grievances were not heard elsewhere or for senior citizens or disabled people, he said.
“Such organisations should be given a separate opportunity so that they don’t start protesting at a Janta Darbar,” the official said.
The AAP government’s much-talked-about first ‘Janta Darbar’ outside the Delhi Secretariat here today witnessed chaos and mismanagement, forcing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to leave the venue midway as hundreds jostled with each other to register their grievances.
Kejriwal later admitted that if he had not left the meeting midway, there could have been a stampede. He also promised to “streamline” the system so that a similar situation does not recur.
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