Waste Management v. Crowd Management

 Waste Management v. Crowd Management

Perhaps the worst bit of news I received from today’s (2025-07-18) newspaper:

Yes, the city of Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad) was felicitated for effective waste management when about 660 million (a little less than half the population of India) descended on the town over about six month. In terms of world population, about 8%.

That should have been a Himalayan mountain of shit and other wastes of humanity and perhaps other four-legged creatures, some of them holy.

But, let us add some perspective to the above. About 40-80 people died in a crowd-crush (the lower limit per the government, and the upper limit per, I leave it to the readers’ imagination).While the Union and State Governments and also the local government (the one that was specifically felicitated by the President of India Droupadi Murmu) prepared for the waste mountain, but not in crowd control. Something does not compute here. 

We care more about human waste than about human lives? 

The thing is that everyone in India knows the fervour of people gathered together at one location to celebrate something. Remember another crowd-crush in Bengaluru to felicitate Royal Challengers Bangalore their first IPL Tournament win where a few people died. Today I learned that RCB, Karnataka Cricket Association and some police personnel are being charged for those fatalities. Then, celebrating the occasion to clear the pathway to Heaven for each of the participants, in Prayag as much as in Bengaluru, is a truly very special occasion. 

I would not have missed attending the Maha Kumbh Mela, but for my wife and her sister not allowing me to go alone. They asked, “What would you do alone in Heaven?” They did not know, and it is better that it remained unknown. Yet, as I had no answer to their question that I could share with them, I had to abandon my plan.

Coming back to the President of India, I would imagine she knew about the disaster and as usual sent her slippery sympathy message to the grieving people, giving no handle. She, then could have advised the Union Cabinet not to give this award which would rub the same grieving people the wrong way – “Look, the death of my mother / father / aunts / uncles / teachers / friends did not matter as much as keeping the place shit-free to the President of India.” Oh, yes, it is not impossible that the President did send that such a note of dissent to the real Executive of the government and it came back in double quick time, “Know your place! Sign it.” 

President Murmu, you are the First Citizen of the nation. Then, taking care of lives of your fellow citizens must invite your attention at least as much as keeping the location shit-free. You failed in your duty.

Raghuram Ekambaram