Arrangement for ‘Ravanvadh’ was better this year: DM

Patna: Describing the Friday stampede at the Gandhi Maidan as tragic, outgoing Patna DM Manish Kumar Verma on Sunday asserted the security arrangements for the ‘Ravanvadh’ programme this year was better than last year. Verma was transferred on Sunday evening.
Dismissing media reports regarding closed gates of Gandhi Maidan being the main cause of the stampede, Verma also claimed that all the gates were kept open on the occasion.He, however, accepted the fact that the gates were closed for a while, but that was “only to regulate” the movement of the visitors. With a view to giving factual strength to his claims in this regard, Verma said he himself saw them open on the CCTV footage of the area around the venue. He said the incident could have been of a “greater magnitude” and attributed the lesser magnitude to the visibility of cops.
When asked about a rumour that a live wire was snapped near the gate, he said inquiry into the matter was on. Regarding a sensitization drive aiming at restricting rumour mongering, he said an elaborate drill in this regard was needed. Speaking about increasing the number of gates at the Gandhi Maidan, Verma said the matter was already under government’s consideration.