The Hathras District Magistrate control room received at least 100 distress calls in the first hour, between 2 pm and 3 pm, on Tuesday as the tragic stampede broke out at the venue of a religious event, leaving 121 dead. While some reported deaths, many cried seeking medical help and others narrated the horror detailing the tragedy.
Talking to CNN-News18, District Magistrate Hathras, Ashish Kumar said, he had received information regarding the stampede around 3 pm. “In immediate response, we activated our entire apparatus and rushed medical care to the spot. The staff from hospitals also reached the site and SDMs from all Tehsils also left to make necessary arrangements. Our Nayab Tehsildar were also deployed and keeping in mind that a much robust medical infrastructure will be required to deal with rising casualties, hospitals from neighbouring districts were also asked to ensure preparedness to deal with the situation,” Kumar said.
Since a number of people who were there at the event also went missing because of the stampede, the Hathras administration officials also collected the data of people who had left their houses to attend the event and then kept checking with their families at regular intervals if they had returned home following the mishap. “This helped us ensure that majority of them had been safely reunited with their families,” the DM said.
Initially, when the death toll was still rising, the total number of unidentified deceased was as high as fifty. Kumar said that by Wednesday, 8 am, the number of unidentified dead bodies remained 13 while till 3 pm, it was reduced to four. By early morning on Thursday, the only body that had remained unidentified was also claimed by the family members,” the DM added.
When asked what were the challenges that the administration faced while dealing with a tragedy of this magnitude, Kumar told CNN-News18 that because the venue of the event is at a remote location and at an hour’s distance from the main city, they initially faced some technical issues connecting with people on ground.
“We borrowed timely medical infrastructure from our neighbouring districts like Etah and Kasganj. Ambulances and additional staff were also roped in from nearby government hospitals. In fact, the private hospitals in our district and transporters were also told to be on standby to offer their services if required,” Kumar added.
Detailing the future course of action of the district administration, he said, the ex-gratia amount of the compensation announced by the state government was being disbursed to the families of the deceased and injured. There are many other beneficiary schemes by our state’s government and benefits to the victims who qualify for it will also be extended through these,” the officer said.
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