Broad principles on which NDMA guidelines are based upon include

ü  Risk  Analysis  and  planning should  be  the  first  step  as  disasters  may  be  prevented  through  careful identification of cause/threats. It is recommended that all event organizers should conduct Failure Mode and  Effect  Analysis  (FMEA).It  involves  rating  every  possible  hazard  on  the  dimensions  of  severity, frequency of occurrence and difficulty of detection.

ü  Information management dissemination is also crucial. The absence or poor information management in itself may  be  a  source of  crowding.  A robust  information management  system  is  critical  in  all  situations viz.  normal,  disaster/emergency  and  disaster  recovery.  Similarly timely  information  exchange  between various stakeholders viz. event management, government administration, NGOs, media etc. is critical. Further, according to NDMA guidelines, the various elements of crowd management strategy includes:

§  Capacity  planning  (long  term  and short  term) – It  emphasizes  the  need  to  develop  infrastructure based  on  popularity,  periodicity  of  the  event,  weather,  terrain  and  local  population.  For  example erecting  barriers,  medical  booths,  traffic  management  infrastructure  etc.  Multiple  routes  should  be encouraged  (normal,  express  and  emergency);  access  routes  should  be  made  safe  from  natural disasters like landslides etc.

§  Understanding  crowd  behaviour-Individual  behaviour  in  a  crowd  is  sometimes  influenced  by behaviour  of  others.  The  unlawful  actions  of  a  few  people  can  result  in  a  larger  numbers  following them.  Research  has  showed  that  understanding  crowd  behaviour  has  led  to  community  based approach  to  crowd  control  instead  of  fore  based  control.  Inappropriate  or  poorly  managed  control procedures may  precipitate  crowd  incidents  rather  than  preventing  them.  For  example,  police reacting to a group of unruly people may chase them in a direction opposite to the incoming crowd, which may create collision, and hence a disaster.

§  Crowd  control-The  guiding principle  for  crowd  control  should  be  managing  demand-supply  gap through- controlling  the  crowd  inflow,  regulating  the  crowd  at  venue  and  controlling  the  outflow  if needed.  Separation  of  in-gate  and  out-gate,  preferably  in  separate  directions  and  separating  the incoming and outgoing crowd.

§  Stakeholder approach-organizers/law  enforcement  agencies  must  encourage  community stakeholders  (NGOs,  Business  Associations,  Schools/Colleges,  neighbourhoods,  societies.  Mohall committees  etc.)  to take  ownership  in  events to  uphold  unity  of  purpose,  faster  decision/response, better  coordination  etc.