Geetam Tiwari; Dinesh Mohan, K.N.Jha, Kalaga Ramchandra Rao and Girish Agarwal
Project Details
Background
The Patna River Front Development (RFD) Project comprises 27 ghats, within a stretch of 6.6 km along the river front, connected by a continuous 4-6m wide promenade. The project area has varying levels of access and connections with the city, primarily pedestrian linkages with some vehicular access. Ease of access to the river front is limited due to the dense urban morphology of the city. A scientifically designed riverfront in Patna assumes importance in the light of the tragedy during the Chath Festival on Ganga Ghats at Patna in 2012 due to the collapse of a temporary makeshift bridge.
In order to build the river front facility for safe and efficient circulation of the expected large crowds during festivals, including effective emergency evacuation, it is necessary to understand and predict the way in which people will move through the river front environment.
OBJECTIVE
(i)Safety assessment demonstrating the carrying capacity of the proposed riverfront designand its accesses with the projected demand, analysing structures and accessibility
(ii)Preparation of guidelines to be followed during operation of the river front to manage risks and safety hazards
(iii)Development of a risk management plan based on crowd modeling (movement and gathering of people under different scenarios) exercise to predict crowd movement during festivals.
The whole exercise will be based on quantified analysis. The Consultant will use Crowd Modeling and/or other suitable technique(s) to model and predict the movement and circulation of crowds based on assessed future demand, addressing, inter-alia, safety hazards that large groups of people could generate, and possible evacuation scenarios, including likely time taken for evacuation in case of an emergency.
METHODOLOGY
This report is based on the review of major stampedes events world over, data provided by BUIDCO and consultants working on the project, site visits and discussions with the local administration and other stakeholders in two workshops held on January 2014 and September 2014.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
The Division of Patna administration responsible for planning Chhat arrangements should have the following information for preliminary discussions with the stakeholders:
•Safety
•Security
•Insurance
•Emergency vehicle access
•Erection of signage
•Expected crowd numbers and crowd management
•Location/site plan
•Erection of structures such as watch towers, temporary bridges
•Electricity
•Waste management
•Toilets
•First aid
•Noise
•Traffic, transport and public transport
Key Partners and Stakeholders
The major stakeholders for Chhat are:
•Charitable trusts
•Communities
•Individuals
•Media & broadcasters
Following plans are required
Signage
The content of site plan should reflect locations of:
Structures
Volunteers/staff
It is advisable to have a system in place at the event to record any incidents or accidents that occur. This should be discussed after the event
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