Mumbai: Authorities in Bengaluru should not have allowed mass celebrations if they were not fully prepared, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Thursday, a day 11 lives were lost in a stampede during IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home coming celebrations.
“I was never a believer that we need to have roadshows. When I was playing, I had the same statement to make, even after winning 2007 (T20 World Cup), that we should not have road shows,” Gambhir said in Mumbai during India’s tour of England predeparture media conference. “I think lives of the people are far more important. I will continue to say that, even in future, I think we can be a little bit (more) aware of not holding these kind of roadshows, and can probably have it in a closed door, or something like this, in a stadium.”
Gambhir was referring to a RCB felicitation event on Wednesday where more than two lakh fans turned up around the Chinnaswamy stadium. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000.
RCB prevailed over Punjab Kings in the IPL final on Tuesday night to end their 17-year wait for the title. Overwhelmed with emotion, the franchise’s loyal fan base congregated from all corners of the city, when the word spread that there was free entry at the stadium.
Given the paucity of time, it appeared Bengaluru was not prepared for such a heavy turnout in the area. The usual heavy police bandobast, traffic re-routing, medical aid etc were not in place. Bengaluru police are known to have flagged the dangers of going ahead with the event. “It is very tragic what happened yesterday, and my heart goes to the families, the people who’ve lost their loved ones, and I hope in future, nothing like this can happen, because I think we all are responsible, and we all are responsible citizens, and we should take care of all this,” Gambhir added.
“And if we are not ready to hold a roadshow, we shouldn’t have done that. As simple as it can get. I know fans do get excited, everyone gets excited, the fan bases get excited, but nothing can compare to what has happened yesterday.”
“Even when I used to play, I didn’t believe in roadshows. I don’t believe in them today and I won’t believe in them in the future as well,” said Gambhir.
Gambhir had voiced opinion in 2014 as captain of KKR, when their felicitation ended in lathi charge on fans in Kolkata. “Winning is important. Celebration is important. But more important than that is the life of any person. So, if we are not prepared or if we can’t handle the crowd in that way, then we might as well not have these roadshows,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, RCB issued a statement announcing “financial support of ₹10 lakh to each of the 11 families of the deceased” and setting up of an RCB Cares fund in aid of the “fans injured in this tragic incident.” The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) also said it would give ₹5 lakh to each of the families of the people who died in the stampede around the Chinnaswamy Stadium.