CUSAT stampede deaths: Kerala govt mandates strict adherence to guidelines related to college events

Alappuzha: The Kerala government has urged the authorities concerned to ensure that the directives related to the conduct of various events in colleges are followed. The Higher Education Department’s intervention comes in the wake of the stampede deaths that happened at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) campus in the last month.

Four people were killed and 60 injured in the stampede that took place before renowned singer Nikita Gandhi was to perform at a musical festival in the open-air auditorium of CUSAT.

It may be noted that the government in 2015 issued guidelines related to the conduct of various events in colleges. The guidelines were issued in the wake of mishaps and deaths during festivities. The government updated the guidelines in 2016.

Following the tragic incident at CUSAT, state Law Minister P Rajeev had said existing guidelines for big public events, including those in universities and colleges, would be revised and updated from time to time to prevent such accidents.

Meanwhile, a plea seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident is before Kerala High Court. The court declined to order a judicial inquiry after the state government said that certain inquiries had already been commenced by the official agencies and the university. However, HC noted that it would “certainly require details of such inquiries”. The court will take up the matter again on December 14.