We condole the tragic deaths in stampede

We are shell-shocked at the death of 23 women and four children in a stampede during zakat distribution at a businessman's house in Mymensingh. Reports suggest that 1000 people had gathered overnight in front of the house-cum-factory of Mohammad Shamim. When the main gate was opened, people, in their desperate attempt to reach the donations before the others, scurried and shoved each other; with no crowd control mechanism in place, many fell to the ground and got trampled. Witnesses allege that the workers of Shamim's factory clubbed them to "manage" the crowd, further aggravating the situation. This barbarity, if true, is utterly reprehensible.

We are at a loss to understand why no precautionary measures for crowd control were taken by the zakat donor or by the police to ensure the safety of those receiving the donations. Given that 1000 people had already been waiting before the gates were unlocked, there was ample opportunity for the owner to devise appropriate measures. Essentially, the police, too, cannot shirk its responsibilities by claiming they hadn't been informed, as they were aware of the huge numbers of people that had gathered that day; had they taken pro-active steps to manage the crowd, this catastrophe may well have been averted.

We condemn the disdainful attitude to human lives. With a week still to go before Eid, we urge the authorities, as well as those providing donations, to ensure that charitable events are not turned into unimaginable tragedies, and people's lives lost for a mere piece of clothing, in the absence of precautionary measures.