This is the first time in living memory that the fabled Lairai zatra at Shirgao in Bicholim taluka was marred by tragedy. In the early hours of Saturday, a stampede claimed six lives and left at least 74 others injured, some of them critically. The elaborate Hindu observance, held annually between April and May, sees thousands of Dhonds (devotees of goddess Lairai) descend upon the small hamlet of Shirgao from far-flung corners of Goa, as well as from neighbouring states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka.
According to the Lairai Devi temple president, this year’s zatra drew between 50,000 and 70,000 devotees – but sources who visited the devasthan told O Heraldo there were no less than 2,00,000 people at the temple.
The temple president said the chaos began when a devotee accidentally touched a light bulb with his beth (a decorative stick), suffered an electric shock, and collapsed onto the crowd around him. The area was already overcrowded, with pushing and shoving as devotees jostled to move closer to the rituals. Attempts by local villagers to restrain the crowd and prevent further pushing proved futile. In moments, the atmosphere turned from one of reverence to terror, with shrieks and cries piercing the night as people were trampled, and others frantically tried to flee the human crush.
While police and other authorities are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the stampede, the tragedy—which has evoked an outpouring of grief and condolences from across the country—is a grim reminder that at events of such magnitude, the government cannot afford to take public safety for granted.
The blame game has begun, with the Goa government transferring North Goa Collector Sneha Gitte, SP Akshat Kaushal, DySP Jivba Dalvi and the Bicholim Police Inspector as well.
North Goa SP Kaushal publicly acknowledged that more than 50,000 people were present at the temple for the zatra and that 400 police personnel were on duty. A simple calculation shows that each officer would have had to manage over 125 people—a ratio that is not just inadequate but practically impossible, as Saturday’s events tragically demonstrated.
“We are still trying to determine the exact cause of the incident. However, we have been told that the stampede might have happened due to some people spreading rumours. The biggest challenge for us was to peacefully vacate more than 50,000 people who were inside the temple,” Kaushal told the media, while reiterating that this was the first time such an incident had taken place at the zatra. But that this was the “first time” should not be a point of consolation for the administration. On the contrary, the goal should have been to ensure there would never be a first time when human lives are lost so needlessly during a gathering meant to celebrate faith and devotion.
Given the scale of attendance the zatra sees year after year, it is fair to say that both the state administration and police have relied more on luck than preparation in the past. This time, luck ran out. It is now crucial that authorities adapt to changing times and adopt a more proactive, systems-driven approach to crowd management at such large-scale events, particularly when attendance is only increasing every year.
They should have, in fact, been on high alert, especially after the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela earlier this year, which claimed at least 30 lives and injured 90 others. Yes, the Kumbh Mela—held at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj—sees a much larger influx of devotees and has experienced multiple stampedes in the past.
But that a crowd crush occurred as recently as January 29, 2025, should have served as a wake-up call for authorities here to take pre-emptive measures and prepare for every eventuality.
Let this be the first—and the last—time such a horror unfolds in our State. Goa must learn from this tragedy. The lives lost at Shirgao must not become just another footnote in a long list of avoidable disasters. Instead, they must serve as a turning point in how we approach safety, planning, and accountability at mass gatherings in the future.