Echoes of deadlier disasters: Have lessons been forgotten?

The near-miss has ignited a firestorm of public outrage in Puttur, with residents drawing grim parallels to recent catastrophes that claimed dozens of lives. “Didn’t we learn from Bengaluru? Or Tamil Nadu?” fumed Sunita Shetty, a mother of two who attended the event. “This is a small town—why risk lives for freebies?”

Just four months ago, in June 2025, Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium became a scene of horror during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations. What started as euphoric fan frenzy outside the stadium devolved into a deadly crush, killing 11 people (initial reports cited 7) and injuring 56. Fans, many without tickets, had surged toward gates amid poor crowd control, with four deaths near Gate 7 alone. The Karnataka government admitted lapses in preparation for the 2.5 lakh-strong mob, suspending Bengaluru’s police commissioner and announcing ₹10 lakh compensation per family. RCB echoed the payout, but the tragedy exposed the perils of unplanned hype in confined spaces.

Even fresher in memory is the September 2025 stampede at actor-turned-politician Vijay’s (Thalapathy) political rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district. Tens of thousands—double the permitted 10,000—flocked to hear the superstar’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) pitch, but a surge toward his delayed bus speech triggered a crush that killed at least 40, including nine children, and injured 124.

Police blamed “indiscipline” and underestimation of the crowd, filing cases against three TVK leaders. Vijay, heartbroken, called it “unbearable pain,” while a judicial probe was ordered. Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin announced ₹11,000 per deceased family, but the incident underscored the frenzy actor-politicians can unleash without robust safety nets.