Following the recent stampede at Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar, the Uttarakhand government has decided to conduct a crowd management survey at key religious sites across the state. The survey will cover major temples such as Kainchi Dham, Chandi Devi, Neelkanth, and Purnagiri.
In a high-level meeting held at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan directed officials to implement short-term and long-term measures for crowd and safety management. He emphasized the need for action during major festivals and peak pilgrimage days, when crowd surges often lead to safety concerns. Garhwal and Kumaon Divisional Commissioners have been designated as nodal officers for temple safety and infrastructure planning.
The survey will involve expert teams conducting technical and civil assessments to develop evacuation plans, identify bottlenecks, and create standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Chief Secretary also ordered the development of route and circulation plans for each temple, use of technology for crowd estimation, removal of encroachments in public areas near temples, and widening of narrow access routes where needed.
The first phase of the survey will include Mansa Devi, Chandi Devi, Neelkanth, Kainchi Dham, and Purnagiri temples. The expert teams will prepare detailed management strategies based on the findings.
Top officials present at the meeting included DGP Deepam Seth, Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu, and Secretaries Shailesh Bagauli and Dheeraj Singh Garbyal, along with IG Garhwal Rajeev Swaroop.
