Shocked and dismayed at the August 25 stampede at a Hindu festival in Madhya Pradesh, Hindus worldwide are highly critical of frequent occurrences of deadly stampedes at religious gatherings in India.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that although India was on track to become a global power but it could not even handle a domestic event properly and had yet to come up with a foolproof plan to manage large crowds.

India failed or refused to learn lessons from the previous stampedes as these continued to happen. It was blight on a country, which prided itself on having joined the league of hottest growth economies, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out while expressing grief over the loss of lives at August 25 stampede.

Rajan Zed further said: Our hearts and thoughts go out for the victims and their families and we are all in shock and anguish over this unimaginable loss. He called for prayers for the victims of the tragedy and their families.

Zed argued that it clearly reflected on India and Madhya Pradesh governments who appeared to have failed to properly manage a popular pilgrimage.

Rajan Zed asked for apology from Madhya Pradesh government for failure to prevent this preventable tragedy, adequate compensation for the affected and their families, proper medical care for the injured and action against the negligent officials.

India should better manage its festivals as stampedes were relatively common at India’s pilgrimage centers where large crowds gathered in small areas with very little or no crowd-control or safety measures, Zed added.

According to reports, at least ten people (including six women) were killed and 100 injured in the pre-dawn crush at the Kamtanath Pahad Temple in Chitrakoot (Satna district, Madhya Pradesh) on August 25, where tens of thousands of devotes gathered to celebrate Somvati Amavasya festival.