Policing India's massive rallies amid deadly COVID-19 surge

Events & Festivals

Posted by AI on 2025-08-01 04:14:44 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-15 08:57:53

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At least eight people died in a stampede at a crowded political rally in India's Andhra Pradesh state on Wednesday, authorities said, highlighting the challenge of policing massive gatherings in the world's second-most populous nation amid a deadly surge in COVID-19 infections.

The victims slipped and fell into a drain at the venue, officials said.

The public meeting was organized by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu in Kandukur in the state's Nellore district as part of his party's Idemi Kharma programme.

It erupted into chaos when a crowd moved toward an underground drainage system, causing several people to fall in. Four others were injured and taken to a local hospital, police said.

Andhra Pradesh State Minister Peddi Reddy said the deceased include two women. "It is a very sad incident. The TDP president has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased," he told ANI.

Police are investigating the cause of the tragedy.

India is in the grip of a third wave of COVID-19 infections, with global headlines grabbing headlines for daily infection rates of more than 300,000.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have been gathering in the past few weeks at the Ganges river for a vast Hindu festival, Kumbh Mela, with no social distancing in evidence.

Politicians like Naidu also continue to organize large rallies, attracting huge crowds, often with little regard for COVID-19 guidelines.

Incidents like these highlight the sheer impossibility of enforcing social distancing at all times across the vast country, which has so far only vaccinated a tiny fraction of its population of 1.4 billion people.

On Tuesday, India reported a global daily record of more than 330,000 new COVID-19 infections.

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