When the state government undertook the ‘beautification’ plan of Gandhi Maidan a few years back the most important thing it did is to erect a big boundary wall all around it. Unlike in the past when there was a small barrier at the periphery and many entry and exit points––four gates as well as several wickets––there are now fewer outlets. Even those were closed and just two small ones were opened on the fateful Friday evening. 
The wall is now too high to be scaled in the time of emergency or rush and is in a way a hurdle in carrying out rescue work. At the time of construction hardly anyone questioned these shortcomings. 
On the occasions like Ravan dahan, when VIPs like chief minister too attend, it is all the more difficult for the people to come out. As thousands of men, women and children, may be lakhs, congregate and that too at the time of sun-set, it is natural for them to be in hurry once the programme is over. Even a small accident or rumour has the potential to cause stampede. The presence of VIPs often blocks at least one of the gates, may be briefly. This happened on Friday too. Some reports suggest that the people got panicked when rumour spread that a live-wire had fallen down. Almost the same thing happened during the Chhath tragedy of November 2012.
The October 3 tragedy took place on the southern side, that is at the Exhibition Road intersection, where traffic is always heavy.
Gandhi Maidan is meant for big congregations, political rallies and other gatgherings. Yet no measure was taken at the time of the so-called beautification on the movement of the crowd; how will rescue operation be taken at the time of crisis etc? 
Apart from boundary wall the other ‘good’ thing done was the construction of another statue of Gandhiji, this time bigger than the one built by the previous government.
No expert, no media-pundit, no engineer ever raised the objection over so few outlets in such a big field. There was just all praise of the state government’s effort to give a face-lift to Gandhi Maidan.
True some cosmetic changes have been made inside but in the process the Maidan lost some of its qualities. Children have been deprived of the opportunity to play. Once there used to be three-football fields with three pairs of goal posts––six in all. 
No doubt the district administration was responsible for the October 3 tragedy. Why were most of the gates close? No stand-by arrangements were made for rescue operation and the area was not properly lit. There was hardly any doctor in PMCH, nor was there ambulances ready for emergency. The premier-most government hospital of Bihar was once again without proper medicine to cope with such a crisis.
This is the third time within two years that Patna has witnessed such a tragedy. The first time was on November 19, 2012 during the Chhath evening. At least two 
dozens––may be much more––perished when the bamboo bridge collapsed. The PMCH was totally unprepared for that accident. Two years later no lesson has been learnt.
In between November 19 and October 3, came the October 27, 2013 serial blasts during Narendra Modi’s Hunkar rally. They took place both inside and outside the Maidan. Thanks to better understanding of the situation by the organizers of the rally no stampede occurred then. But the administration was caught napping on that occasion too. 
Media also has its share of responsibility. Two years have passed since the Chhath incident and nobody has asked as to why not a single official, doctor, health department and electricity board and PWD employee involved in that tragedy was suspended. No, none of them has even been transferred as punishment for that mishap. It is only after October 3 evening that the media too was reminded as to what has happened to probe report of that tragedy. Had the Press forcefully pursued these issues the administration might have been compelled to take up some preventive steps this time. 
The sad fact is that the media too was responsible for the whole cover-up of that tragedy. Though the Janata Dal (United) and BJP both were in power then and the relationship was very good, yet in private the leaders of both the parties started trading charges.
The JD(U) rank and file held the deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi responsible for the bridge collapse as he was incharge in the absence of chief minister Nitish Kumar, who was on a week-long trip to Pakistan. 
The saffron party leaders instead held Nitish morally responsible for the tragedy. Some of its leaders even went on to question the very rationale of visiting Pakistan. Some of them even tried to cook-up conspiracy theory, but it did not work.
The media played into the hands of both the parties and a couple of days after the Chhath incident the whole issue was put on the back burner. Will this happen again?