Chinnaswamy stadium can hold 35,000 people, 2-3 lakh turned up: How Siddaramaiah explained RCB Victory Parade stampede

Indian Express

3 days ago

A day after Royal Challengers Bengaluru emerged victorious for the first time in the Men's IPL tournament, tragic scenes unfolded in Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium as 11 people died in a stampede on Wednesday, with scores more getting injured. Looking back, the signs were always there, including the all-day-long confusion on whether the victory parade would take place and whether the RCB faithful would be allowed a glimpse of their hallowed stars. In the end, the happiness and contentment of conquering the most elusive of victories was somewhat eclipsed by the feeling of a loss. What led to the stampede-like situation and what next? Here's what we know so far:
📌 The celebration: The RCB Men's team wanted to win the trophy in what many are calling the swansong tournament for team veteran Virat Kohli. They managed to clinch the title by defeating Punjab Kings in the IPL final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The team was scheduled to celebrate their victory in Bengaluru on Wednesday, arriving at the HAL Airport on a special flight in the afternoon. According to the plan, a felicitation programme took place at Vidhana Soudha, with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in attendance. Later, the team was set to participate in an open-bus victory parade that would ferry the players to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, about a kilometre away. Many people hoped to catch a glimpse of the players during this ceremony. But the team was sent in a closed bus.
The celebrations started early, with the crowd scattered in and around MG Road, Church Street and other places of Central Business District. The chants of 'Ee Sala Cup Namdu' (This time (IPL) cup is ours) and 'RCB-RCB' rang in the open skies of the central business district of the IT capital.
📌 The confusion: In the morning, the RCB handle had posted about a victory parade to be held in the evening. By the afternoon, the traffic police and the state Home Minister said that the victory parade was cancelled. G Parameshwara Rao pointed to 'security reasons'. Trying to assuage any concerns, he said that all security measures and traffic measures are in place 'to ensure there is no inconvenience to the public'. But soon, the RCB handle posted another message, saying that the victory parade would be held at 5 PM. The traffic police conceded that there was confusion about the parade, but said it had made 'preparations in case it happens'.
📌 The stampede: The crowds around the stadium had started to swell much before 5 PM. Thousands of fans gathered in front of Vidhana Soudha as well as outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. And the numbers were only rising. These eager fans had failed to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars as they were travelling in a closed bus. A stampede broke out around 4 pm when more than 15 people, including a woman, fell on the ground as the crowd rushed towards Gate 3 of the stadium. Passes were also made mandatory to enter the Chinnaswamy Stadium to attend the celebrations and eyewitnesses said many without passes also tried to enter.
📌 'Unexpected' turnout: After the tragedy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a press conference to condole the loss of lives. He announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the kin of the deceased, and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy.
Then, he explained what could have led to the chaos. Siddaramaiah said that the stadium has a capacity to hold about 35,000 people. But about 2-3 lakh people had gathered at the stadium and about a lakh outside Vidhan Soudha. 'We, or the Karnataka State Cricket Association, did not expect such a huge crowd,' he said.
The CM paid a visit to the injured, who have been admitted to the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospitals, and Vydehi Super Speciality Hospital, and later announced the state will provide them free treatment.
📌 PM's message: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the loss of lives and took to social media platform X to post: 'The mishap in Bengaluru is absolutely heartrending. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery'.
Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy and former CM also said the stampede has 'left me deeply shocked' and called the loss of innocent lives 'extremely painful'. 'The primary reason for this massive tragedy is the lack of proper planning and complete failure to take precautionary measures.'
Others in the opposition also trained their guns at the ruling Congress government, questioning it for what they called a lack of proper planning.
📌 Kohli at loss of words: Just 24 hours ago, he was on the ground, overcome by emotions after having achieved what had eluded him for so long — an IPL title win. But after Wednesday's mishap, the senior cricketer took to Instagram to share the official statement of the RCB, captioning the post: 'At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted.'
The team statement also mentioned how they were 'deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents,' referring to the stampede and the resultant deaths.