Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Principal Investigator Dr. Sumana Gupta

Department of Architecture & Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur July 2018

Preamble In a country like India, religious congregations are a frequent occurrence. Provision of infrastructural services and public amenities/facilities and their management/ planning is a key issue. The role of town planners is to carry out the most important task of allocation of the facilities integrated with the existing infrastructure and the mobility plan for the event. In this project, it is intended to assess the user satisfaction considering the Nabakalebar festival 2015 at Puri, Odisha; for which a pilot study was carried out in Ratha Yatra, 2014. It was never attempted to understand and evaluate the pilgrim satisfaction levels in the context of the pilgrim related infrastructural facilities and its planning, their locations and pilgrim mobility. Pilgrims are the key persons for whom the arrangements of temporary nature are planned during a religious event. Satisfaction of pilgrims is an indicator of the quality of services rendered by the organizing authorities. It acts as a yardstick for measurement of the success of the religious event and the organizers. The task was carried out by analyzing pilgrims‟ revealed responses for the facilities provided and their locational appropriateness considering the accessibility characteristics in connection to reach the event place. The responses were collected through primary survey during the event. This article also compares the overall pilgrim satisfaction indices based on the revealed responses between major locations for getting planning implications. Specific conclusions are made in the context of the particular city under study and guidelines are suggested. Analysis of regional connectivity to and within the city along with the facility locations was carried out. An extensive survey of the users of various categories was conducted in the core city and its peripheral areas during the month-long Nabakalebar festival, as well as during the Rathyatra 2014, at peak days of both events. The results were compared to find the variance in user satisfaction levels since the Odisha government had decided to take up special planning measures with regards to accessibility, parking, amenity provision, accommodation, health and emergency services, traffic and transportation for the special Ratha Yatra (Nabakalebar festival) in 2015. The outcome of the study targets developing planning guidelines for providing facilities at similar events. This project is sponsored by the Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) cell (Project Code: GIR) under Institute Scheme for Innovative Research and Development (ISIRD), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India.

Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Acknowledgements We acknowledge the contribution of the following officials for their valuable insights during the course of the project: Mr. Aravind Agrawal, District Collector, Puri Dr. U. C. Majhi, Additional District Magistrate, Puri Mr. Pabitra Mondal, Additional District Magistrate, Nabakalebar cell Mr. Ashish Kr. Singh, Superintendent of Police, Puri Mr. Lingaraj Mishra, Deputy Commandant of Traffic Police, Puri Mr. Jajati Kishori Dhal, Inspector of Police, Puri Mr. Jayanta Kumar Sarangi, Chairman, Puri Municipality Mr. Manish Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Puri Municipality Mr. Rajat Mishra, Municipal Engineer, Puri Municipality Mr. Sutara, Roads & Drains division, Puri Municipality Mr. Debabrata Sarangi, Municipal Officer, Puri Mr. Nalini Kanta Sahoo, District Cultural Officer, Puri Mr. B.K. Jena, Tourist officer, Department of Tourism, Puri Mr. Bijay Kr. Jena, Tourist Officer, Puri Mr. Er. Satyajit Chakraborty, Superintendent Engineer, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation Mrs. Jayanti Rath, Program-in-charge, Doordarshan Kendra, Bhubaneswar Mr. B.N Bhol, Central Laboratory, State Pollution Control Board, Bhubaneswar Mr. B. K. Senapati, Regional Transport Office, Puri


CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6.

Definition of Special Mega Religious Events ............................................................. 1 Problem statement and need for the study .................................................................. 2 Background of study ................................................................................................... 3 Objective of the study ................................................................................................. 4 Rationale of Study ....................................................................................................... 5 Major observation from the earlier studies ................................................................. 7

Chapter 2. Background ................................................................................. 10 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4.

The city and the festival ............................................................................................ 10 Regional traffic flow to Puri city during Ratha Yatra ............................................... 10 Status of connecting roads and rail over-bridge (ROB) to Puri ................................ 12 Terminal facilities planned within Puri city .............................................................. 13

Chapter 3. Literature Review ....................................................................... 14 3.1.

Mass gathering events and corresponding adopted management strategies ............ 14

3.1.1. 3.1.2. 3.1.3. 3.1.4.

Kumbh Mela ................................................................................................................. 14 Hajj Pilgrimage, Mecca................................................................................................. 20 Sabarimala festival ........................................................................................................ 23 Gangasagar mela ........................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 4. Methodology ................................................................................ 26 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.5. 4.6. 4.7.

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 26 Pilgrim carrying capacity of Puri city ....................................................................... 27 Facilities developed in the Puri city and their spatial distribution ............................ 28 Survey design and data collection plan ..................................................................... 30 Pilgrim survey ........................................................................................................... 31 Survey for ground verification of facilities ............................................................... 33 Other surveys............................................................................................................. 33

Chapter 5. Results and discussions ............................................................... 35 5.1.

Preliminary inferences............................................................................................... 35

5.1.1. 5.1.2. 5.1.3. 5.1.4. 5.1.5. 5.1.6. 5.1.7. 5.1.8.

5.2.

Primary survey of pilgrims ........................................................................................... 35 Data collected from supervisors .................................................................................... 39 Survey of pilgrims (as victims) at hospitals and health centers .................................... 42 Analysis of drivers survey data at parking areas ........................................................... 43 Analysis of responses of service providers (Sample size=40) ...................................... 46 Resident and shopkeeper survey ................................................................................... 47 Waste Management ....................................................................................................... 47 Water quality survey ..................................................................................................... 48

Detail analysis of pilgrim satisfaction ....................................................................... 51

5.2.1. 5.2.2.

Principal component analysis of pilgrim satisfaction ................................................... 52 PLS model framework and hypothesis ......................................................................... 55


5.2.3. 5.2.4. 5.2.5. 5.2.6. 5.2.7.

5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6.

Checking for method bias ............................................................................................. 57 Analysis of the reflective measurement model ............................................................. 57 Analysis of formative measurement model................................................................... 58 Analysis of the structural model ................................................................................... 59 Results of pilgrim satisfaction analysis ......................................................................... 61

Accessibility analysis of pilgrim facility locations ................................................... 63 Formulation of proposals from accessibility analysis ............................................... 64 Issues and problems of pilgrimage at Puri ................................................................ 68 The project and the upcoming HRIDAY guidelines ................................................. 68

Chapter 6. Formulation of guidelines .......................................................... 70 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. 6.8. 6.9. 6.10.

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 70 Accessibility of venue and facility layout ................................................................. 71 Pilgrim and vehicular movement .............................................................................. 72 Crowd control ............................................................................................................ 72 Management of festival infrastructure ...................................................................... 74 Medical preparedness ................................................................................................ 76 Awareness programmes for service providers .......................................................... 77 Site safety .................................................................................................................. 77 Guidelines for inspection of drinking water .............................................................. 78 Guidelines for waste management ......................................................................... 78

Chapter 7. Conclusion ................................................................................... 80 References........................................................................................................... 82 Publications ........................................................................................................ 86 Conferences attended ........................................................................................................... 86 Journal publications.............................................................................................................. 86

Plates ................................................................................................................... 87 Plate I.................................................................................................................................... 87 Plate II .................................................................................................................................. 88

Appendix I: Survey Questionnaire .................................................................... 89 Questionnaire for pilgrims on foot ....................................................................................... 89 Questionnaire for pilgrims by train ...................................................................................... 91 Questionnaire for pilgrims by bus ........................................................................................ 93 Questionnaire for pilgrims by private vehicle ...................................................................... 95 Questionnaire for pilgrims at Hotels & Mathas ................................................................... 97 Questionnaire for bus/car drivers ......................................................................................... 99 Questionnaire for patients/victims ..................................................................................... 100 Questionnaire for service providers ................................................................................... 102 Questionnaire for ground verification ................................................................................ 103

Appendix II : Published research article on Crowd control .......................... 105 Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

List of figures Figure 1. Regional connectivity of Puri (Source: Mapience India Limited, 2001) ............................................... 11 Figure 2. Map showing roads considered for upgradation and facility locations at the regional level (Source: Author) ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 3. Transportation map of Allahabad (Source: City Development Plan, Allahabad).................................. 15 Figure 4. Kumbha Mela 2015 sector wise plan (Source: mahakumbhfestival.com) ............................................. 17 Figure 5. Important Activity zones at Kumbh Mela (Source: news.bbc.co.uk) .................................................... 19 Figure 6. Sector Market concept (left) and camps within sectors in Mela Area (Source: bsdma.org) ................. 20 Figure 7. Pilgrims at the Masjid al-Haram on Hajj in 2008 (Source: Wikimedia Commons) ............................... 21 Figure 8. Accommodation Tents at Mina (Source: pinterest.com) ....................................................................... 22 Figure 9. Web-based interactive GIS Maps (Source: www.hajjGis.net) ............................................................... 22 Figure 10. Crowd control method for darshan (Source: The Hindu) .................................................................... 25 Figure 11. Terminal facilities within Puri city (Source: Author) .......................................................................... 29 Figure 12. Chemical composition of water collected at various locations during Ratha Yatra 2014 (Source: Author) ......................................................................................................................................................... 48 Figure 13. Map of Puri city showing layout of facility locations with relative satisfaction on adequacy of individual facilities (Source: Gupta & Basak, 2018) ................................................................................... 52 Figure 14. PLS path model-based pilgrim satisfaction model dependent on facility provisions (Source: Gupta & Basak, 2018) ................................................................................................................................................ 61 Figure 15. Location of temporary facility points within Puri with respect to distance buffers from event location during Ratha Yatra 2014 (Source: Gupta & Basak, 2017)........................................................................... 64 Figure 16. Proposed routes of travel as per alternate locations (Source: Gupta & Basak, 2017) ......................... 66

List of tables Table 1. Auspicious days at the Kumbh Melas ..................................................................................................... 16 Table 2. Facility allocation comparison across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net) .... 18 Table 3. Transportation status comparison across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net) 18 Table 4. Security service status across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net) ................ 18 Table 5. Carrying capacity of roads in Puri .......................................................................................................... 27 Table 6. Pilgrim volume projection from vehicular traffic ................................................................................... 28 Table 7. Facilities in Ratha Yatra with their capacity and performance status ..................................................... 30 Table 8. Number of samples collected under each category ................................................................................. 32 Table 9. Satisfaction scores of different pilgrim groups under different heads (Ratha Yatra 2014) ..................... 38 Table 10. Satisfaction scores of different pilgrim groups under different heads (Ratha Yatra 2015) ................... 39 Table 11. Analysis of ground verification by Supervisors and its comparison 2014 and 2015 ............................ 39 Table 12. Comparative study of victims during Ratha Yatra 2014 and 2015 at Sadar Hospital, Puri .................. 44 Table 13. Comparative table of driver responses at Ratha Yatra 2014 and 2015 ................................................. 46 Table 14. Descriptive statistics of pilgrim profiles at Nabakalebar 2015 ............................................................. 51 Table 15. Independent variables and their component structure........................................................................... 53 Table 16. Reflective relations with constructs from the PLS-path model ............................................................ 56 Table 17. Test of validity for reflective and formative constructs ........................................................................ 58 Table 18. Statistics of path coefficients in the structural (inner) model ............................................................... 59 Table 19. Comparison of travel times required between existing and proposed routes ........................................ 67


List of Abbreviations AVE: CCTV: CI: CMB: CMP: CR: GIS: GOI: GPS: HRIDAY: HTMT: ITS: KMO: NDMA: NH: NHAI: PA: PAC: PCA: PLS: PLOS: PLS-PM: ROB: SCS: SEM: SH: SRMR: SWOT: ULB: VIF: WMS:

Average Variance Extracted Closed Circuit Television Confidence Intervals Common Method Bias Crisis Management Plan Composite Reliability Geographic Information System Government of India Global Positioning System Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio Intelligent Transport System Kaiser-Olkin-Meyer National Disaster Management Authority National Highway National Highway Authority of India Personal Address Pradeshik Armed Constabulary Principal Component Analysis Partial Least Squares Pedestrian Level-of-Service Partial Least Squares-Path Model Road Over-bridge Samanta Chandra Sekhara Structural Equation Modeling State Highway Standardized Root Mean Square Residual Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Urban Local Body Variance Inflation Factor Weighted Mean Score


Introduction

1

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1. Definition of Special Mega Religious Events A mega-religious event is a common phenomenon in a diverse and secular country like India. Religious cities in India host religious gatherings of national as well as international importance. Old religious towns with its inadequate infrastructure take it as a challenge to successfully organize these religious gatherings which happen throughout the year for a specific duration, some being regular, seasonal, annual and occasional. A “special mega religious event” is considered to be a festival in which coordination of different agencies is required for temporary usage of general physical and social infrastructural facilities like roads, common areas, open spaces, community space and others (Special Events Planning Guide, Columbia, 2015). Major periodic events like annual trade fairs, religious festivals have a great potential for building a city‟s economy. Studies reveal that while considering the sacredness and the spiritual gains during the entire visit, the expectation levels towards highend facilities remain low in general amongst the devotees. However, when the scale of the events is large and attracts over a million pilgrims, provision of the essential services along with their proper mobility within the town and overall administrative control becomes crucial. Planning for infrastructure allocation, particularly for such occasional events is required. Examples of such notable mega religious events in Indian context are “Kumbh Mela” (fair), the “Gangasagar mela”, “Kalachakra festival”, “Ratha Yatra”, “Sabarimala”, “Shraavana Mela”, “Pushkar mela”, “Rann Utsav”, “Amarnath Yatra”, “Pitripoksha at Gaya” and others. The world-famous Ratha Yatra celebrated in Puri, Odisha is also an important mega religious event. Every year Puri hosts the annual Ratha Yatra festival which attracts over 8 to 10 lakhs (800,000-1 million) pilgrims. The Nabakalebar festival of Puri held after 19 years which handled 12 lakh pilgrims at auspicious dates between May to July. To ensure safety, security, law, and order in the towns, initiatives related to pilgrim crowd management, provision of basic required infrastructural facilities is necessary. In our country, each festival is considered as a unique case and facilities are developed following precedence historically. Festivals are held at various geographical locations, having different landform and that too in Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Introduction

different seasons around the year. However, a set of generalized guidelines may be adopted for all such events in view of fulfilling the pilgrim requirements and their mobility plan; along with some specific ones unique to the celebrations of the particular festival. This mobility plan, particularly for the festival, needs to be prepared as a footprint to develop all infrastructural facilities along, around or considering it as the expected path of pilgrims traveling by different public and private modes. Pilgrims on foot or non-motorised vehicles from various adjoining villages are also to be considered for facility development. 1.2. Problem statement and need for the study Celebrating religious festivals and associated pilgrimage is an integral part of Indian culture. Our society considers festivals and religious gatherings as a point of togetherness and happiness, and there exists a true spirit of communal harmony. The places of pilgrimage attract more pilgrims due to several factors- the availability of proper connectivity, provision of more number of special trains from different routes, campaigns from tourism department, information dissemination through media and improved facilities in the pilgrim town. Unfortunately, the old pilgrim city infrastructure is not prepared to cope up with its limited capacity to satisfy the pilgrims even regarding basic facilities like shelter, drinking water, food, and toilet. Moreover, the regional traffic movement into the narrow informal road and street network needs to be restricted at city periphery. These peripheral points become regional and state level terminals. At these drop-off and pickup points of pilgrims, proper provisions for large-scale temporary facilities are planned. These are sometimes the starting points of the city level transport depending on the distance to be traveled to reach the sacred place or else the pilgrims ought to walk long stretches to reach their destination. The pilgrims who are expected to walk, even if having the willingness to pay, are threatened with crowding and related issues, keeping them dissatisfied. The city traffic usually runs in a conservative mode. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, some private vehicles operate at high rates. This study attempts to assess the needs of the pilgrims by evaluating the pilgrim contentment through their revealed responses in a religious event which indicates the present satisfaction level with the services rendered by the organizers. In such situations, governments and administration seem to be struggling to make fool-proof arrangements for such events. Due to unforeseen circumstances at these events, there have been many unfortunate incidents resulting in loss of lives, physical injury, damage to property, mental agony, and the like. However, there are also some good practices adopted by different


2

Introduction

governments in organizing such events. The study aims to identify such practices and put them in a consolidated form that is replicable in other such events. 1.3. Background of study The event of “Ratha Yatra”, which takes place annually in the city of Puri in the coastal state of Odisha, India is a mega-religious event. The Ratha Yatra event at 2014, has been of particular significance to researchers because it was on the eve of “Nabakalebar” of 2015, a rare and special event of the Lord Jagannath faith when the new wooden idols replace the old ones. During Ratha Yatra 2015, more pilgrims were expected (to witness the new idols), and hence, the authorities are especially concerned in planning and developing infrastructure in the city. Also known as the car festival (or chariot festival), the Ratha Yatra is usually held in the monsoon months of June-July on the second day of the bright fortnight in the month of “Ashadha”, as per Odisha calendar. The reference to car festivals is available in various scriptures like those of Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus. Many scholars connect Lord Jagannath as Buddhist God. It is generally believed that the temple was built on Buddhist pagoda. According to General Cunningham, the car festival is the once-conscious reproduction of the Tooth Festival of the Buddhists (City Development Plan of Puri, 2006). Puri was probably the place where the famous tooth relic of Buddha was worshipped, and it is pointed out that the wooden image of Jagannath contains these relics. The Jagannath faith is believed to be the universal faith hence international pilgrims are also attracted during this festival. The precise time when the grand festival of Ratha Yatra started as part of Jagannath faith is not known. The entire festival is a symbolic humanization of God. All rituals associated with the festival demonstrate an attempt to bring the God down from His “pedestal of glory” (the Jagannath Temple), to a more human level and hence the mass of pilgrims feel extreme enthusiasm and interest to pull His (Lord Jagannath‟s) chariot along with the two chariots of His sister Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra. This annual festival has now acquired a grand scale and has become the identity of the city. People from all across Odisha and from various parts of India come to take part in this auspicious occasion. The state witnesses the inflow of about 7 to 10 lakh (700,000 - 1 million) pilgrims during the festival. According to newspaper sources, the number was estimated to be one million for the festival in 2015. The route through which the chariots move is a stretch of three kilometers along the „Bada Danda‟ or the Grand Road which is around 30 meters wide by the Jagannath Temple to 100 meters on the Gundicha Temple side. On the day of Ratha Yatra, the three chariots move Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

3

Introduction

from the Jagannath temple to the Gundicha temple. The entire journey is retraced as return after nine days. On the 10th day (called the “Sunabesha”), the idols are attired in golden ornaments are worshipped on their chariots in public view beside the Jagannath temple. All these three days are of special attraction, and attracts large gatherings of the order of about one million. The district authority looks into the entire management as well as law and order situation during the entire event of nine days. Research and monitoring of the different strategies during such events are important from the conventional perspective to provide information necessary for the formal processes of analysis and decision-making. From the process perspective, they facilitate planning as a more responsive learning activity and help in future decision making. 1.4. Objective of the study The objective of this project is service quality evaluation, from user groups‟ point of view, of the physical infrastructure and facilities in connection with the Nabakalebar festival 2015. It will also compare the variation in satisfaction in user groups from the regular facility planning during the annual Ratha Yatra 2014 festival which attracted around 9 lakh (900,000) pilgrims. To meet the objective, the following were the plan of actions: 

Ground verification of locations to check with respective areas and their state of functioning along with movement plan and spatial distribution of existing facilities for Ratha Yatra 2014 and Nabakalebar 2015 as per proposal for allocation of facilities at Puri Municipality and neighboring Urban Local Bodies.



User satisfaction study from the viewpoint of the facility and mobility planning strategies and facility provisions adopted during the regular Ratha Yatra event of 2014. This task also served as a pilot study before administering the survey questionnaire during Nabakalebar 2015.



Assessment of the effectiveness of the existing mobility strategies, infrastructure development strategies and basic facility provisions planned for Puri city and its adjoining towns from the users‟ point of view during the major event of Nabakalebar 2015.



Analysis of the results obtained from the two different user studies - a regular Ratha Yatra (during 2014) and a special Ratha Yatra, which coincides with “Nabakalebar” (during 2015).


4

Introduction



A comparative study to identify whether the special planning strategies taken up particularly for Nabakalebar 2015 have a greater users satisfaction.



Develop guidelines to be followed, for future gatherings of similar scale and occasion.

After understanding the importance of Ratha Yatra, in the context of Puri, it is important to plan for the guidelines that may be appropriate provision and location of infrastructural facilities during the time of the festival so that the event can be made attractive to pilgrims. This objective has been fulfilled by evaluating the pilgrim satisfaction levels in the context of the existing facility planning, their locations, and mobility in terms of city infrastructure. Pilgrims are the key persons for whom the arrangements of temporary nature are planned during a religious event. Satisfaction of pilgrims is an indicator of the quality of services rendered by the organizing authorities. It acts as a benchmark for measurement of the success of the religious event and the organizers. The measurement of this satisfaction has been carried out by analyzing pilgrims‟ revealed responses for the facilities provided and the accessibility characteristics in connection to reach the event place. The responses are collected through primary survey during the event. This article also compares the overall pilgrim satisfaction indices based on the revealed responses between major locations from a planning perspective. Specific conclusions are made in the context of the particular city under study. However, this event being an annual event of mega-scale, the findings from this study will benefit the pilgrims in the years to come. Further studies that were carried out while continuing this project are related to crowd movement and their management, following which some recommendations were made. The methodology discussed in the appended paper (Appendix II) may be considered as a future tool for managing crowd in such large-scale events. 1.5. Rationale of Study Cities go beyond the carrying capacities of their physical and basic infrastructure to cope up with the pilgrim requirements. However, the city outskirts remain underutilized, and these events are witnessed during a limited time of a year. The most basic rationale that can be put forward in the given context is its ability to replicate in many of the mass-gathering events in India. The similarity in pilgrim related infrastructural requirement, crowd behavior, the turnout of events, etc. make this study worth being undertaken. Various authorities plan such events, implement strategies and execute them on the ground with different outcomesfailures, partial success or total success. In view of such planned effort already made, the Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

5

Introduction

study will supplement the event planners, and authorities at various levels of administration to keep note of the important sub-events and to minimize failure at any point of the event. Gathering of a large crowd at a limited geographical area for a short period and the diversity of crowd always challenge the safety measures of the system unless it is systematically planned, executed and monitored. Developing countries like India has witnessed more crowd disasters at religious places (National Disaster Management Authority, 2014). Suggestions for the facility points would include steps for reducing the crowd-related issues.

The reports that have been studied while preparing this document are:  “Standard Operating Procedure for Festival Disasters – Safety in religious mass gatherings: Guidelines for event organisers and stakeholder agencies”, by Institute of Land and Disaster Management (2015), Department of Revenue & Disaster Management, Government of Kerala.  “Mass Gathering Event Management: A Case Study of MahaKumbh, 2013, Allahabad” by Bihar State Disaster Management Authority  “Crowd management and Public safety in India- A new policy initiative." by R.K. Dave (2014) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.  “Puri City Development Plan 2006” by City Managers Association Orissa, for Puri Municipality. Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Orissa, India.  “Managing crowds at events and venues of mass gathering, A guide for state government, Local Authorities, administrators and organisers”, by National Disaster Management Authority (2014), Government of India.  “City Hriday Plan for Puri under the scheme „HRIDAY‟”, for Puri Municipality, by IPE Global Private Limited & CRCI India Pvt. Ltd (2016), for National Institute of Urban Affairs & Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India  “Special Events Planning Guide”, District of Columbia Mayor‟s Special Events Task Group (2015), Washington D.C., United States of America  “Guidelines for concerts, events and organised gatherings” by Department of Health, Government of Western Australia


6

Introduction

1.6. Major observation from the earlier studies Studies reveal that religion and related gatherings are carried out all over the world and India in particular (Gyte and Phelps, 1989). Improving service quality of religious events is one of the major focus of the several studies that are carried out by researchers (Pai, Prabhu, & Nayak, 2013; Sridhar et al., 2008; Sharma & Joshi, 2013) for different festivals. Eid (2012) states that there is a lack of empirical evidence in the domain of pilgrimage, citing a reference to the Hajj. The Ministry of Hajj plays a vital role in improving and upgrading the quality of services to make the event safe and pleasant for the pilgrims. Eid worked with 22 items evaluating service quality and used the multidimensional SERVQUAL model of Parasuraman et al. (1988) for analysis and used a seven-point scale for data collection. The major attributes were satisfaction with the different ritual related attributes provided by service providers. Finally, he concluded that the pilgrims showed a gap in satisfaction. The notion of service provision and their impact on pilgrims has been increasingly gaining importance to ensure an acceptable level of satisfaction (De Rojas & Camerero, 2008; Yoon, Lee & Lee, 2010). According to Collins-Kreiner and Gatrell (2006), several service providers in the industry deals with religious tourists as a homogeneous group, without consideration of behavioral differences amongst pilgrims. Vukonic (1996) recommended modernization of the pilgrim destinations in line with the changing taste of tourists to guarantee repeat visits. Shinde (2007) stressed on finding newer ways of marketing tourist destinations, taking consumer behavior into account. Several problems of the religious tourist segment and their dissatisfaction with facilities were identified by Heo et al. (2004), in a study of Asian travelers to the west. A review paper by Verma (2014) highlights some inadequacies in the field of pilgrim contentment. The findings of Pai et al. (2013) in a study of pilgrim satisfaction in the Hindu Temple of Udupi in Karnataka of India, reveal that as perceived by the pilgrims, the most important factors are accommodation rent and transport infrastructure. The least significant factor as perceived by the pilgrims were shopping and tourism services. The overall objective of their study was to capture devotees‟ perception, preferences, and satisfaction with various services and facilitates available in Udupi. They also intended to measure the level of satisfaction of respondents concerning transportation facilities in the temple town, Darshan/Seva availability, accommodation, information and communication, prasadam, and behavior of local vendors in particular (Pai et al., 2013). A tourist satisfaction level was worked out by Sharma and Joshi (2013) using SWOT analysis. In another study carried out by Sridhar et al. (2008), for the Kalachakra Buddhist festival, it was revealed that Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

7

Introduction

factor representing basic facilities like „reception‟, „availability of information‟, „guidance and assistance‟, „accommodation facilities‟, „medical facilities‟ and „water supply‟ and support facilities like „transport‟, „banking‟ and „communication‟ were the major factors which affected the pilgrim satisfaction. These studies were considered for attribute selection in this particular study. However, as this work mainly focuses on pilgrim satisfaction on different facilities, attributes were selected accordingly. Unlike the mega-religious events which are for spiritual gains, mega-events in an urban context are to satisfy local needs. They may not be held annually, and sometimes the strategies adopted translate to failure, as mentioned by Bornstein (2010). The study stated that mega-projects are taken up to pursue global ambitions keeping in mind intensive community-based demands. Risk management strategies to tackle stampedes during religious festivals are quite inadequate and have failed consistently in India. This observation stems due to the large crowds and the continually widening spread of the venue as reported by Illiyas et al. (2013) in their analysis for stampedes in mass gatherings. In the context of religious festivals in India, the report of Bihar State Disaster Management (2013), found that for Kumbh Mela, a renowned Hindu religious event at the confluence of river Ganga and river Yamuna, the basic amenities considered were mainly related to road, water supply, electricity supply, visitors shades, toilets & bathrooms, arrangement of food, security, and first aid. Considering the length of stay of pilgrims along the river stretch, an innovative “Sector market” concept was adopted as an effort for the selling of items of basic needs. The report analyzed the provided facilities by the Disaster Management Authority to identify the gap in services. Finally, it was presented in the form of a prescribed guideline rather than mathematical calculations which state the need for betterment in different facilities „to take care of the pilgrims‟ needs and safety requirements. In a study by Maheswari and Singh (2009) concerning pilgrim psychology in Allahabad‟s Ardha Kumbh Mela, another Hindu religious festival in India, it was found that religiosity and happiness are highly correlated. Studies related to health and epidemics in such religious events (Khan et al., 2010) have also been carried out earlier. Maheswari and Singh (2009) and Tewari et al. (2012) conducted studies during Ardha Kumbha mela, a Hindu celebration at Nashik, India, on psychological well-being on attending religious gatherings. The findings show a positive association between religiosity, happiness and life satisfaction in spite of the noisy, crowded, and harsh conditions. Enduring hardship is considered as integral to the act of pilgrimage. A recent study by Mehta et al. (2014) gives a comprehensive review of the literature on the different management strategies Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

8

Introduction

in the context of the forthcoming Simastha celebration in Ujjain. Not many studies related to pilgrim satisfaction are found in literature, but it may be concluded that basic facilities imply the primary requirements of any pilgrim whenever a mass gathering is expected. Heo et al. (2004) in his study of Asian travelers to the west identified problems of the religious tourist segment and their dissatisfaction on their specific needs. The pilgrims faced a lot of difficulties with regards to various facilities made available to them and suggested to focus more on infrastructure and transportation development. In a recent review paper of Verma (2014), it is summarised that pilgrim contentment is an essential issue in the tourism industry and it needs extensive attention. Overall, pilgrims satisfaction studies, particularly concerning the city infrastructure, temporary infrastructure and mobility context are quite inadequate in the existing literature.


9

Background

10

Chapter 2. Background

2.1. The city and the festival Puri is a holy city in the state of Odisha in India and is considered as one of the four „dhams‟ according to Hindu mythology. Amongst other festivals, the Chariot festival or Ratha Yatra concerning the onward and return journey of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra traversing a distance of 2.7 kilometers in the Grand Road attract millions of pilgrims, nationally and internationally. The initial journey starts at the Jagannath Temple and moves to the Gundicha temple, and the same is traced back after nine days. The entire festival is observed over the nine days with peak flow on certain holy days. Puri is also famous for its sea beach which attracts over twenty-two thousand tourists round the year (Tourism Report, 2011). The city has a resident population of 201,026 (Census of India, 2011). Tourism and pilgrimage constitute the major source of income of the people. However, the primary concern of authorities is about the six to eight lakh (600,000-800,000) pilgrims hitting the city on the day of the onward „Ratha Yatra‟ and similar numbers on successive auspicious days who come to the city to witness the festival and return. Therefore to maintain security, law, and order, the authorities plan for the entire vehicular and pedestrian movement integrated with pilgrim facilities. With improved accessibility, the future annual Ratha Yatra events are also likely to attract more pilgrims. Despite the absence of previous reliable records of the pilgrim count and their flow directions, the city and its regional level connectivity are being further improved and expanded to enhance mobility and ensure pilgrim satisfaction. 2.2. Regional traffic flow to Puri city during Ratha Yatra Puri is regionally connected by the Eastern Coastal Railway, with the city itself being the terminating station. The highways NH 203, NH 312, NH 312A from the north, east and west respectively connect Puri with Bhubaneswar, Konark, and Brahmagiri. Several state highways also connect cities of Bilaspur, Raipur, etc. (Figure 1). The Bay of Bengal is to the south of the city. The district of Puri and the adjoining ones are connected by roads of different order starting from arterial to rural roads which finally leads to the highways and Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Background

11

approach the city. The nearest airport is at Bhubaneswar. Within the city, the road network is web-like, originating from the Jagannath temple and approaching different parts of the city. The Grand Road (“Bada Danda”) forms the main spine of the city. The roads are of different

Figure 1. Regional connectivity of Puri (Source: Mapience India Limited, 2001)

widths and have different commercial activities along it. Some city buses run on designated routes and most of the roads do not carry any traffic during the festival. A large number of day pilgrims enter the city using trains, four wheelers, two wheelers, cycles and on foot to witness the festival peaking on onward journey („Ratha Yatra‟) day, return journey („Bahuda Yatra‟) day, „Sandhya darshan‟ day and the „Sunabesha‟ day. A number of special trains, both local and long distance, run in addition to the scheduled trains. State buses, regional level private buses, trucks, tempos and four wheelers all enter the city and are terminated at peripheral designated locations like Talabania to the east, Jagannath Ballav to the north, Loknath temple premises and Yatrika to the west, which are largecapacity parking locations alongside many smaller ones. Thee regular traffic movement into the city is cordoned for controlled entry and security purposes. The Puri Railway Station is the only railway station within the city and is within a distance of two kilometers of the Grand Road. Several sites are identified for providing terminal facilities on a temporary basis on the east and west of Puri in proximity to the roads and highways.


Background

12

2.3. Status of connecting roads and rail over-bridge (ROB) to Puri The map (Figure 2) presents the different roads widened or developed, and the list of the same is given below. The points where the facilities need to be developed/ augmented on a temporary basis and also the terminal points are marked. It is prepared by traversing the entire route and information from the Urban Local Body (ULB) officials. Recommendation to Urban Local Bodies to plan for providing public facilities Identification of land, physical planning and implementation of public facilities both temporary and permanent, needs to be done according to the directives of the Urban Local Bodies. The areas are to be chosen based on the location of available permanent facilities, and may be augmented by temporary facilities. These facility points should be off the main roads with provisions of parking along the road, and the availability of parking may be displayed for convenience. Intelligent transport system (ITS) may be in place. The following points are recommended for providing public facilities during the entire period of the festival: At Pipli

Khurdah-Jatani-Piplinimapada Road and National Highway NH-203

At Balanga

Rajatei

Balanga

Road,

Chandanpur-Gabkund-

Balanga Road and Satsankha-Balanga-Nimapada Road At Gop

Roads SH60 and SH13

At Konark

Konark- Kakatpur Road, Marine Drive and SH13

At Balighai

SH60 and Puri Konark Marine Drive (NH316)

At Niali

SH43 and NH60

At Nimapada Charichakka

NH60 and Nuahata Astarang Road

At Satasankha

NH203 and Satsankha-Balanga-Nimapada Road

At Jagatsinghapur

NH43 and Local Road Crossing

At Khurdah

NH5 and Khordah- Jatani- Pipli Road

At Jatni

on Khordah- Jatani- Pipli Road

At Nirakarpur

NH5 and New Jagannath Sada


Background

Figure 2. Map showing roads considered for upgradation and facility locations at the regional level (Source: Author)

2.4. Terminal facilities planned within Puri city The district administration prepares a detailed plan of entire event set-up with locations of temporary facilities, such as resting tents, restrooms, food and drinking water facilities, first aid and all essentials for the smooth running of the event. The city is cordoned off from vehicular entry and vehicles are not allowed in venue area. Traffic control plans are documented, strategic safety plans on how pedestrian and vehicular traffic management in and around the venue area are chalked out along with the adequate provision of first aid and emergency medical services. The old city of Puri has a web-like informal road pattern radiating from the Grand road acts as the major spine and starts from Jagannath temple and ends at the Gundicha bus terminal, beside Gundicha Temple where North-, East-, and west-bound regional level buses terminate. The Ratha Yatra takes place at the Grand Road when the Chariots move from the Jagannath temple to the Gundicha temple, and hence the bus terminal behind Gundicha temple remains inoperable. Majority of the narrow roads connecting the Grand Road is restricted from vehicular movement and kept open solely for pedestrian movement before the festival starts. Later these routes are kept clear as pedestrian exits.


13

Literature Review

14

Chapter 3. Literature Review

3.1. Mass gathering events and corresponding adopted management strategies The management strategies adopted during some of the major events across the world are highlighted in this section. These include the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, the world famous Hajj pilgrimage at Mecca, the Sabarimala festival and the Gangasagar mela. As a country with diverse religious events, India takes pride in a variety of mass gathering events. Most of these pilgrimages or festivals have an age-old presence, and their management strategies often rely on traditionally used techniques. 3.1.1. Kumbh Mela It is a religious festival of the country conducted in every twelve years at Allahabad, Ujjain, Nashik, and Haridwar, In this mela, people from across the country gather and the devotees take a holy dip at the confluence of the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, referred to as Sangam. The MahaKumbh at 2013 is believed to have taken place once in many hundred years based on the astrological events, resulting in a huge turnout. Nearly 100 million people visited the place in the short duration. With such a massive influx of population taking place during the mela, better preparedness on the part of the administration and civic organizations is a must to avoid any fatal incidents. During the Maha Kumbh Mela which took place during 2013 in Allahabad, provision of basic amenities such as the provision of adequate roads, water supply, electricity, tents and shades, sufficient number of toilets and bathrooms, kitchen facilities, eateries, safety and security, fire protection service, health services were taken. Besides the provision of basic amenities, initiatives from the administration point of view such as setting up of individual blocks associated with the purposes of security and provision of basic public amenities were also adopted. A web portal was created for dedicatedly providing all information related to the mela, including a mapping of all the sectors using Global Positioning System (GPS). Moreover, provision of first aid counters and ambulances with life support systems on busy state/national highways connecting Allahabad, traffic police installed electronic variable signboard on the major roads Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Literature Review

to ease the traffic and display important messages, lost and found camps used electronic techniques for efficient functioning, were also installed. In order to maintain cleanliness, polyethylene bags were banned in the area.

Figure 3. Transportation map of Allahabad (Source: City Development Plan, Allahabad)

Corporate Social Responsibilities initiative involving private houses were also adopted for providing services to the people at the mela. However, despite these measures adopted it cannot be completely denied that the system was completely flawless and included issues of inadequacy of bathing spots and changing rooms for women; dearth of trained traffic police personnel aware of the routes to manage the course of action; lack of parking provision near the spot of the mela; improper display maps for the availability of amenities and routes. Moreover, the coordination between the railway and roadways administration was found lacking in several areas. Maha Kumbh Mela, 2013, at Allahabad, being one of the four major Kumbh Mela centers around India, was the most important as it attracted a large number of pilgrims. The city is Located in Uttar Pradesh at 25°27‟N and 85°51‟E with a population of around 11.7 lakhs (2011 census), having increased 1.3 lakhs over the previous decade. The area of the city is around 65 sq km. Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

15

Literature Review

16

Location of the Kumbh Mela site in Allahabad The Maha-Kumbh Mela held every 12 years and the Ardha Kumbh Mela, held every 6 years and occurs at Prayag situated at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna river. The map of the city with detailed road layout is shown in Figure 3. Major locations pertaining to Kumbh Mela are highlighted. Total number of pilgrim visits- An estimated 110 million attendees visited the Kumbha Mela in 2011 in over 55 days including 30 million on the day of Makar Sankranti. It was a difficult job for the planners to assess based on the previous year‟s Kumbh Mela and extrapolate the current estimate of people traveling down by considering the factors such as population growth, infrastructure, transportation and road connectivity, etc. Major factors which were considered for estimation included the following: 

25% increase in the duration of the Mela in 2013 (55 days) compared to 2001 (44 days)



17.6% increase in the population of India as per 2011 census (121.02 crores, or 1.21 billion) compared to 2001 (102.87, crore or 1.03 billion)



20% increase in the population of Uttar Pradesh as per 2011 census (19.96 crores or 199 million) compared to 2001 (16.61 crores or 166 million)



28% increase in the population of Allahabad Nagar Nigam as per 2011 census (12.47 lakh or 1.24 million) compared to 2001 (9.75 lakh or 0.97 million)

“Sadhus” (ascetics) from across India and the world participated in perhaps the single most colossal gathering of humanity since the dawn of time. The total number of people expected to arrive at the Kumbh Mela (final figures yet not obtained) was broken down in terms of specific festival days when there would be a surge in population. The statistics go as shown in Table 1. Table 1. Auspicious days at the Kumbh Melas Serial Bathing days

Kumbh 2001

No. Dates

Kumbh 2013 Estimated count of visitors (in lakhs)

Dates

Projected count of visitors (in lakhs)

1

Makar Sankranti

14-Jan-2001

100

14-Jan-2013

110

2

Paush Purnima

09-Jan-2001

50

27-Jan-2013

55

3

Mauni Amawasya

24-Jan-2001

276

10-Feb-2013

305


Literature Review

17

4

Vasant Panchami

29-Jan-2001

175

15-Feb-2013

193

5

Maghi Purnima

08-Feb-2001

150

25-Feb-2013

165

6

Maha Shivratri

21-Feb-2001

50

10-Mar-2013

55

Provision of land allotment with tents and basic amenities was made at the beginning of the Mela (around December) for pilgrims. The basic amenities associated with the settlements inside the Mela were the following:    

Road Accommodation Bathrooms Police

   

Water Supply Fire shade (for winters) Kitchen Fire Services

   

Electricity supply Toilets Eateries Primary Health Centre/ First Aid

Figure 4. Kumbha Mela 2015 sector wise plan (Source: mahakumbhfestival.com)

As soon as the area was earmarked for the Mela, plots were allotted to the registered organizations (see Figure 4). This task was completed immediately after the water receded post monsoon in the previous year. Status regarding facility allocation and transport are enumerated in Table 2. Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Literature Review

18

Table 2. Facility allocation comparison across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net)

Sl no.

Service/ Infrastructure

Unit

Kumbh-2001

Ardh Kumbh2007

Maha Kumbh2013

1

Area

Hectare

1495.31

1613.80

1936.56

2

Sectors

No.

11

11

14

3

Parking Lots

No.

35

44

99

Around 40 km of new roads were laid down, bringing the total to 156.20 km; a substantial increase over the situation at Ardh-Kumbh 2007. The total number of pontoon bridges was 18, thus adding four to the number of existing such bridges at Ardh-Kumbh 2007. The Transport services were optimized after Ardh-Kumbh 2007; including upgradation in both roads and railway sector. The results are summarized in Table 3. Table 3. Transportation status comparison across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net)

Sl no.


Unit

Kumbh-2001

Ardh Kumbh2007

Maha Kumbh2013

1

No of Temporary bus stations

No.

4

4

5

2

No of buses in operation (registered)

No.

776

798

892

3

No of buses in operation (special)

No.

2824

2202

3608

4

No. of railway stations in operation

No.

7

N/A

7

5

No. of trains

No.

600

N/A

750

6

No. of pilgrims

Lakh.

36.64

46.78

90.0 (predicted)

Kumbh 2013 had a well-planned security system. Public Address systems and CCTV cameras were installed at strategic locations. Round-the-clock surveillance was provided. However, the PA system had issues regarding clarity and ownership and had interruptions in service. The security service status across Kumbh Melas is enumerated in Table 4 Table 4. Security service status across Kumbh Melas at Allahabad (Source: www.kumbhamela.net)

Sl no.


Unit

Kumbh-2001

Ardh Kumbh2007

Maha Kumbh2013

1

Police Stations

No.

28

28

30

2

State Police Personnel

No.

9965

10913

12461

3

Pradeshik Armed Constabulary (PAC)

No.

35

45

46

4

Central Para Military

No.

7

40

40


Literature Review

19

Personnel 5

CCTV Camera

No.

0

19

85

6

Variable Signage Board

No.

0

0

30

7

Fire Station

No.

28

28

30

The location of the facilities in the Kumbh Mela, in a nutshell, is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Important Activity zones at Kumbh Mela (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

As some innovative initiatives for Kumbh Mela 2013, the administration had chalked out some special measures regarding smooth mobility and allocation of facilities which they incorporated during the Kumbh Mela 2013: a) Security and Public amenity related administrative departments were set up as individual blocks. b) “Sector Market” concept (Figure 6) was initiated where each sector had its own market for making essential commodities available to the people. Camps, or accommodation quarters were built in each of these sectors. c) A website dedicated to the Mela was created where all information related to the meal was digitized and displayed.


Literature Review

d) GPS Mapping of all sectors, important offices, and amenities available on the field. e) First Aid counters and Ambulances with life support systems on busy state/national highways connecting Allahabad. f) Traffic police installed electronic variable signboard on the major roads to ease the traffic and display important messages.

Figure 6. Sector Market concept (left) and camps within sectors in Mela Area (Source: bsdma.org)

In spite of such full-proof arrangement, on 10th February 2013, a stampede resulted from the collapse of a footbridge, resulting in the death of 36 people. This unfortunate occurrence was seen as an inability on the part of the railways to contain an unexpectedly large crowd that was exiting the city after Mauni Amawasya. In another incident, five people were charred to death and 19 others injured when a fire broke in one of the make-shift tents on 25th January 2013. Careful analysis could bring out a different cause perspective, more towards lack of coordination. Problems and issues of mobility at Kumbh Mela 2013: 

No provision of transportation for the disabled people, since the motor vehicles were stopped 5km from the Mela area.



Amenity and route maps were not displayed. Even the police were caught unaware about the routes. Railway and road administration also did not properly coordinate.

3.1.2. Hajj Pilgrimage, Mecca Mecca lies at the midpoint along a caravan route, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with South Arabia, Eastern Africa. The city is located 70 km inland from the port of Jeddah in a narrow valley at the height of 277 m above sea level. Its coordinates are 21°25‟ N; 39°49‟ E. According to the 2012 census, Mecca has a population of around 2 million, although the visiting population more than triple the existing count every year during the Hajj period held Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

20

Literature Review

over five days. The area of the Metropolitan region of Mecca is around 1200 km². The climate of Mecca is warm and dry even in winters, ranging from +17°C (63 °F) at midnight to +25 °C (77 °F) in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are considered very hot and break the +40 °C (104 °F) mark in the afternoon, while dropping to +30 °C (86 °F) in the evening. The religious significance of the city is it was founded almost two hundred years before the birth of Muhammad. It is the founding place of Islam. The Kaaba, or the “Sacred House” lies in the center of the city, which is a cuboid building considered as the most sacred location in Islam. Al-Masjid al-Haram is the mosque built around the Kaaba. Pilgrimages to Mecca are of two types: Hajj (Greater pilgrimage) and the Umrah. During the Hajj, several million people of varying nationalities worship in unison (Figure 7). Every healthy adult Muslim having the physical and financial capability to travel to Mecca is expected to perform the Hajj at least once in a lifetime. In 2013, approximately 2.06 million pilgrims visited for the Hajj, out of which 0.7 million were Saudis.

Figure 7. Pilgrims at the Masjid al-Haram on Hajj in 2008 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

To handle the growing number of pilgrims each year is large logistic battles for the Saudi government, who have spent more than US$100 billion for the development of pilgrim facilities. Infrastructural facilities go hand in hand with world class temporary accommodation facilities (Figure 8).


21

Literature Review

22

Figure 8. Accommodation Tents at Mina (Source: pinterest.com)

Healthcare is provided free of charge to pilgrims through seven major hospitals and many walk-in clinics. The Saudi government often set a quota for various countries to keep the pilgrims‟ number at a manageable level, and arranges huge security forces and CCTV cameras to maintain overall safety during Hajj. Interactive web-based GIS system (Figure 9) containing the traffic, movement and facility plans have been introduced for pilgrims to get acquainted with the city of Mecca from their home country.

Figure 9. Web-based interactive GIS Maps (Source: www.hajjGis.net)

Regarding transport facilities, Mecca has only the small Mecca East Airport with no airline service, so most pilgrims access the city through the Hajj terminal of King Abdulaziz Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Literature Review

International Airport or the Jeddah Seaport, both of which are in Jeddah. Transport plans are specially prepared for Hajj and are linked over GIS-based services. A high-speed inter-city rail line is constructed to link along 444 kilometers (276 miles), the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca via King Abdullah Economic City, Rabigh, Jeddah and King Abdulaziz International Airport. There is lack of any public transportation options for residents and visitors alike, both during and outside of the pilgrimage season, thus forcing them to use private vehicles or taxis. The 18 km Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro (which opened in November 2010), operated at 100% capacity during the 2011 Hajj and carried 3.95 million passengers, making it the world‟s largest and busiest transit during that period. Each train has 12 bogies, effectively carrying 3,000 passengers. 24 trains run per hour. As of now, five metro lines are planned to carry pilgrims to the religious sites. Movement planning policies taken by the government are 

The Grand Mosque or Masjid al-Haram is situated in the in the center of the city. Covering an area of 356,800 square meters, and can accommodate up to 2 million worshippers during the Hajj period. Many houses at the center of the city have been replaced with wide avenues and city squares.



Wide-lane highways have been constructed to improve connectivity of Mecca with other cities of Saudi Arabia.



Air travel has become considerably cheaper and more convenient.

Since the number of pilgrims has largely increased in recent years various crowd control measures had been adopted to ensure safety, and many of the rituals have become more symbolic. Even then there have been many untoward incidents, like stampedes, the collapse of ramps, etc. On 2 July 1990, tragedy ensued when the ventilation system failed in a crowded pedestrian tunnel, and 1,426 people were either suffocated or trampled to death. 3.1.3. Sabarimala festival Each year in December, hundreds of thousands of South Indian men from various parts of the world prepare to undertake what can only be described as one of the toughest of fasts and an equally grueling pilgrimage – the annual visit to Sabarimala. Each year, over 50 million devotees visit this shrine that traces its antiquity to the 12th century AD. Dedicated to Ayyappa, an incarnation of Dharma Sastha, the temple is open on only a few days each year. The heaviest footfall here is seen during the Mandala Puja days (approximately midGuideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

23

Literature Review

November to late December), the Makaravilakku (around 14 January) and on the first five days of each month in the Malayalam calendar. Pilgrims pour in from all parts of the world. Given the huge crowds that this shrine attracts and the forested, mountainous path taken by pilgrims to the Sabarimala temple, stampedes, fires, and other accidents are becoming common here. The temple is perched at the height of 4,133 ft (1,260 m) above sea level, and only basic medical facilities are available there. In recent days, the government of Kerala has roped in the police and other organizations to provide better facilities and yet there are times when major mishaps occur. Sabarimala pilgrims climbing down the hillock after Makaravilakku darshan are dispersed in a phased manner and in one direction to avoid the possibility of a stampede. A hold & release crowd-control method was tried at the hill shrine for the first time as part of a Crisis Management Plan (CMP) prepared by the Institute of Land and Disaster Management of the Government of Kerala. It is estimated that thousands of pilgrims will reach the temple complex during the festival season and the maximum turnout is expected on January 15, the Makaravilakku day. Several areas which are vulnerable to stampede have been identified by experts. The Sannidhanam and its adjoining areas have been divided into 10 zones for streamlining the crisis-response operation. The zones include Sopanam and Kodimaram, areas in front of the Pathinettampadi, and its left, right side, Vadakke Nada, Padinjare Nada, Nadappanthal, Malikappuram, in front of Media Building, Pandithavalam, and Kopra drying yard. Instead of the usual practice of pilgrims moving downwards randomly in all directions after Makaravilakku, those staying at Nadappanthal and adjacent resting places were released first. They were followed by pilgrims from the Makarajyothi viewing sites in and around the Kopra drying area, then from the Malikappuram premises. To streamline the phased crowd release, the CMP recommends restricting “civil darshan” through Vadakke Nada from 6.30 p.m. (local time) on the day. Pilgrims will be asked to wait patiently for their turn to go down the hillock. The crowd would be released in one direction at regular intervals to prevent their rapid movements and resultant crowd surge. The authorities have prepared disaster-specific responses covering possible crisis situations such as flash floods at the Pampa, human-animal conflict, falling of trees, building collapse, and fire emergency. Modalities for medical transportation from the Sannidanam and mass casualty management mechanism too have been prepared. Figure 10 provides details on the crowd control logic for mass events.


24

Literature Review

25

Figure 10. Crowd control method for darshan (Source: The Hindu)

3.1.4. Gangasagar mela Gangasagar pilgrimage, better known as Gangasagar Mela is the biggest attraction for hundreds of pilgrims and tourists during Makar Sankranti (mid-January). It is the biggest fair held in West Bengal at Sagardwip, an island in the Sunderbans. Every year thousands of pilgrims from all over India from different castes and creed attend this fair to take a holy dip at the confluence of the River Ganges and Bay of Bengal. At the buffer zones, adequate illumination, drinking water facility, temporary toilets, security, and traffic management needs are provided.


Methodology

26

Chapter 4. Methodology

4.1. Introduction As a first step of the study methodology, all major city roads and their widths were collected to find out the road carrying capacity. The hotel and matha (Sanskrit word for monastery) capacity and the city population was also considered to work out the city‟s physical carrying capacity. The different access points to the city in the regional context were then identified. This process was done to understand the inflow and exit pattern of the different categories of pilgrims like local, district level, state level, and national or international level. To achieve the major objective of the study related to the facilities that are usually provided, such list was first identified based on literature review and finalized after confirming them from the Puri Municipal office. Unlike other researches, instead of recording individual satisfaction on facilities in a five-point scale; each of the facilities, where ever applicable, was dissociated into its parameters to precisely identify the gap in services which may be improved for further pilgrim satisfaction. Satisfaction on each of the parameters for every facility was included in the predesigned questionnaire planned to be presented to pilgrims for the survey. Overall satisfaction considering the functioning of the individual facilities was also included in the questionnaire. A set of questions on pilgrim preferences on the accessibility-related parameters in relation with the venue of the event were also included. The data collected through survey were planned to be analyzed to understand the satisfaction of the pilgrims considering the provided facilities and finally to identify the gaps in services. Desires of the pilgrims in connection to accessibility were worked out. Ground verification was carried out by Supervisors at each facility point to crosscheck and confirm the responses from the pilgrims for the future plan of action. An alternative crowd study method with an evacuation strategy is also proposed on analysis of the crowd images of the event and awareness among pilgrims can be initiated related to the plan of action during the stampede-like situation. Data was also collected from local hospitals to know the type of Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Methodology

27

emergencies and injuries that take place usually during the festive period and was carried out in separate questionnaires. Survey of the service providers was conducted to understand their extent of involvement in the process and the domains of involvement such as food distribution, first aid, people, traffic control, etc. Water quality assessment was conducted by collecting water from different facility points to measure the actual mineral content and certify its cleanliness. 4.2. Pilgrim carrying capacity of Puri city The estimated count of pilgrims included those incoming by different modes such as bus, car, auto-rickshaw, motorcycle, scooter, bicycle, train, and on foot. This value was added to a fraction of Puri‟s projected population (for 2014) amounting to a footfall of around 916,000 pilgrims. Several photographs of the crowd at multiple locations in the city were captured during the event of Ratha Yatra. A visual study of these indicated an average pedestrian level-of-service (PLOS) as “D” on the scale of the Highway Capacity Manual (2000), referring to a human density of 1.075 persons/m². This value was used to estimate the physical pedestrian carrying capacity of all the main access roads (Table 5), which was evaluated as 11,24,200 pedestrians. Table 5. Carrying capacity of roads in Puri

Major Roads in Puri Town

Direction out

Distance (m) 1,200

Avg width (m) 6

Surface Area (m²) 7,200

Carrying Capacity 21,600

Temple Road College Road

out

1,200

6

7,200

21,600

Clarke Road (to VIP Road locals)

out

1,000

5

5,000

15,000

Swargadwar Road

out

1,000

6

6,000

18,000

Chakra Tirtha Road to Railway Station

out

2,000

20

40,000

1,20,000

Beach Road (Swargadwar to N.S. Chhak Parking)

out

1,800

15

27,000

81,000

Loknath Road

out

2,000

5

10,000

30,000

Rural Development Road

out

4,000

4

14,000

42,000

2,000

20

40,000

1,20,000

Carrying Capacity of roads carrying pilgrims outwards=

4,69,200

Chakra Tirtha Road to Talabania

VIP Rd (locals in)

in

1,800

20

36,000

1,08,000

Red Cross Road (Station to Grand Road)

in

1,000

9

9,000

27,000

Railway crossing to Gundicha

in

1,000

45

45,000

1,35,000

Railway crossing to Adarsh Nagar

in

1,000

45

45,000

1,35,000


Methodology

28 Carrying Capacity of roads carrying pilgrims inwards=

Grand Road (Bada Danda)

varies

2,630

varies

4,05,000

1,15,300

2,50,000

Total carrying capacity of Puri town=

11,24,200

To accommodate the additional pilgrim influx, initially, the existing round-trip travel time of pilgrims was calculated. Based on the results, proposals are made for alternate routes and terminal locations utilizing lower overall travel times. Table 6 shows the expected pilgrim arrival by different modes. Table 6. Pilgrim volume projection from vehicular traffic

Mode of Travel

Approximate

Number of

Total passenger

capacity per

Carriers

volume

50

2,000

1,00,000

Four- Wheelers (Car, jeep)

6

7,500

45,000

Autorickshaws

4

3,000

12,000

25

2,000

50,000

2

30,000

60,000

Mode Buses

Tempos Two- Wheelers (scooters, motorcycles) Projected passenger volume by road Projected passenger volume by railway

2,87,000 2,000

140

2,80,000

Expected pedestrians from neighboring villages (within 6 km radius) per day

75,000

Expected Pedestrian from outer terminal points per day

25,000

Intra-city population of Puri, per day (obtained by regression)

2,17,000

Projected number of pilgrims on foot per day

3,00,000

Hence, total projected visitors/trip =

8,84,000

4.3. Facilities developed in the Puri city and their spatial distribution The city of Puri executes its plan for facility development during the famous Ratha Yatra according to the action plan chalked out for the purpose. The Action Plan prepared by the authority includes several actions which are taken, among other things, provisions for the facilities like temporary toilets, drinking water tanks, cleaning of public wells, temporary shelters, first aid centers, street lighting, and information kiosks. Recruitment of additional garbage cleaners and sweepers, cleaning of drains, setting up of mobile courts to check food adulteration, barricades of approach roads, are some other actions undertaken. The facilities are located strategically to cater to the mass at large. The temporary shelters in the terminal areas try to accommodate the short-term shelter demands. The locations for providing Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Methodology

29

facilities are based on space availability, however; many prime areas within the city are also reserved to accommodate the additional police forces required during the festival. These are the S.C.S. school ground of 9200 m2, Zilla school ground of 12000 m2, and the Gundicha Temple bus stand. In Talabania, which is the major temporary road transport terminal, around 1800 m2 of land is developed for temporary shelter among the available vast land left for parking and other facilities. The parking facilities for the north- and east-bound state, and regional level buses and four wheelers are also provided here. At Baliapanda in the west of Puri, though temporary accommodation facilities for 3,500 pilgrims are made, the parking for buses and four-wheelers are a long distance away from it. Luxury tents, around 20 in number with the provision of all basic amenities are arranged in a land of five acres at Hotel Nilachal Ashok premises. Puri Railway Station provides temporary shelter along with basic facilities for the pilgrims in its adjoining area apart from the existing waiting facilities of the Railway Station. The locations of the above facility points are indicated in Figure 11, and their distances and capacities obtained through measurement and summarized in Table 7. The table also mentions the performance status of the said locations, with respect to pilgrim opinions.

Figure 11. Terminal facilities within Puri city (Source: Author)


Methodology

30

In each of the areas, facilities are provided for the pilgrims. Along the Grand Road and other major roads, where the pilgrims flock the entire day of the festival to see the rituals, provisions for basic facilities like toilets, arrangements for food and drinking water, first aid, information lost and found kiosks, are provided. Table 7. Facilities in Ratha Yatra with their capacity and performance status

Sl No.

Facility Location

Accommodation Capacity (Area or number of persons)

Parking capacity (Area or number of vehicles)

1

Talabania

8000+4000+4000 sq. ft. [for 25000 people]

3000 buses

4.0

Long walk distance

2

Baliapanda

8 police tents × 150 =1080 persons 3 public tents (each of 40 × 15m) [for 4000 people]

Not available

2.7

Poor condition of access road

3

Railway Station

30 m × 45 m (iron scaffolding area) 10 m × 20 m (bamboo scaffolding area)

Only existing parking

2.6

Satisfactory

4

Nilachal Market Complex Lokanath Road Yatrika

For 1000 people

250 four-wheelers

2.2

Long walk distance

Not available

2000 four-wheelers

1.6

Satisfactory

Not available

2.1

Satisfactory

Jagannath Ballav Gadadhar High School Digabareni

Not available

0.8

should be rechecked should be rechecked

10

SCS College

Not available

11

Zilla School

Not available

13

Gundicha Temple

Not available

60 m × 90 m approx. for City Bus parking 45 m × 30 m approx. [1500 four-wheelers] 30 m × 35 m [police vehicles+ 15 VIP cars] Approx. 250 four wheelers + 200 twowheelers 120 m × 75 m [450 four-wheelers+ 4 police buses] 140 m × 60 m [1000 four wheelers + Military bus] Only for two-wheelers

5 6 7 8

9

Not available

Not available

Distance to Jagannath temple (km)

0.9

Performance status

1.4

Satisfactory

1.3

should be rechecked

2.1

should be rechecked

2.4

Satisfactory

4.4. Survey design and data collection plan The primary pilgrim survey was conducted during the Ratha Yatra 2014 and in 2015. The later was a special Ratha Yatra event where the pilgrim movement plan was different and more facility provisions were made. The primary survey was planned for pilgrims of different Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

Methodology

categories, patients at hospitals, drivers of different vehicles, service providers. Along with it, ground verification of the various facilities was conducted. The survey formats are detailed in Appendix I. Additionally, in Ratha Yatra 2014, the drinking water quality testing by collecting water from different facility points was also conducted. 4.5. Pilgrim survey The objective to carry out the primary survey of pilgrims during the Ratha Yatra 2014 festival was to obtain the pilgrims‟ perception in the context of the different facilities planned and located for them. The survey formats had two parts. In the case of Ratha Yatra 2015, the total number of surveys were higher because of comparatively larger number of facility points than that of 2014. Additional and dispersed planning of facilities was adopted to augment the expected extra footfall. Road network at the regional level was also augmented, and internal road conditions improved. For both years, 2014 and 2015, all the different surveys planned and discussed in the methodology were conducted. The first part of the questionnaire meant for pilgrim survey contained questions on basic information of pilgrim origin, education, age group, earlier visits to the city and income with an objective to check the differences in satisfaction levels due to variation in socio-economic characters. The second part of the questionnaire had specific questions related to pilgrim satisfaction on different amenities. These were evaluated on the four basic parameters - availability, adequacy, quality, and signage. Responses were collected from pilgrims on a five-point Likert scale, one being lowest score and five being the best score. Question on overall satisfaction on the facilities was also included. A set of questions on accessibility within the city were asked. These questions were on the willingness to walk in a crowded situation, willingness to pay, desired walking distance. Pilgrims were also asked regarding their willingness to compromise with the different facilities. The data were collected by asking questions to individual pilgrims to avoid missing of data. Data was collected in categorized questionnaires at different terminal points such as train stations, bus stations, four- and two-wheeler parking spots, and at hotels. The rationale adopted for sample size was based on the number of variables. The sample size was kept ten times the number of variables (with a minimum size of 40) as recommended by authors of books on multivariate data analysis (Hair, Anderson, Babin & Black, 2010; Yang & Trewn, 2004). The details of the number of samples collected under each category are presented in Table 8. This categorical data collection was carried out to study the differences in pilgrim opinion from different terminal points. Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

31

Methodology

32

Table 8. Number of samples collected under each category

Pilgrim arrival mode

Sample count

On foot

120

By train

100

By bus

180

By private car

180

At hotels and mathas

100

Total

680

The survey team consisted of 15 graduate student residents. They were trained to conduct the primary survey through a workshop conducted by the investigators. Every question was explained to them, and they were asked to question individual pilgrims in their preferred language (English, Hindi, or the regional language of Odia) to maximize responses. However, in some cases, the pilgrims refused to respond, and such entries were not considered, amounting to 95 rejected questionnaires, and 680 complete ones, amounting to a valid response rate of 87.7%. The same process was followed in two consecutive years 2014 and 2015. The questionnaire for the 2015 survey excluded certain questions which were not answered majorly in the 2014 survey. The method adopted for the study considered two aspects: a primary survey on the satisfaction levels of the pilgrims and an accessibility analysis. A primary survey of pilgrims who witnessed Ratha Yatra was carried out at different existing terminal points like Puri railway station, bus terminals at Gundicha and Malatipatpur, car parking zones at Jagannath Ballav, hotels and mathas and at the city periphery. The first part of the questionnaire included questions on pilgrim origin, education, age group, and monthly income with an objective to check the differences in satisfaction on different facilities due to variation in socio-economic characteristics. The second part of the questionnaire had specific questions related to pilgrim satisfaction on various amenities. Responses were collected on a five-point Likert scale. A set of questions on accessibility like on the preferred walking distance of pilgrims to reach the venue, their willingness to pay for alternative modes, satisfaction levels on walking in a crowded situation and their sense of security, while walking were included. A question on overall satisfaction on the facilities was also included. The survey was conducted after the pilgrims have experienced the journey and witnessed the event, to enable them wisely compare the existing facility arrangement with prospective alternatives.


Methodology

4.6. Survey for ground verification of facilities Apart from the pilgrim surveys, the researchers also carried out ground verification of the different facilities to check whether the responses of the pilgrims conform with the actual. Survey supervisors were trained for ground verification by collecting data on designed formats at different hours of the day on items like availability of food service, lighting conditions, announcements, queue lengths at toilets and drinking water areas, dustbin conditions, presence of security personnel, etc. Ground verification was carried out, 60 in number, through predesigned formats at different locations and at different times of the special gathering dates. The list included points such as the count of working water points in toilets and for drinking water, working toilets, their cleanliness, availability of food, adequacy of signage to different facilities, power conditions, availability of first aid and security measures were conducted to compare with the pilgrim responses. Figure 11 shows the average number of the different facilities provided at each point as obtained through time to time ground verification by survey supervisors assigned at different facility points. The facilities, along with their shortest path distance from the event place are shown in Figure 15. Findings from the ground verification carried out by the survey supervisors with corresponding inferences are presented in Section 5.1.2 for reference. It also compares the situation in the year 2014 and 2015. 4.7. Other surveys In addition to those mentioned above, a few other surveys were conducted to ascertain the overall scenario of the services and facilities both during Ratha Yatra 2014 and that in 2015. 

Hospital patients‟ survey was carried out to understand on the type of illness, medical attention, availability of medicines, other hospital facilities, promptness of first aid delivery on spot (in case of accidents), waiting time for ambulances to attend the casualty, etc.



Driver survey was carried out for bus, and car drivers were conducted to know about the availability of information on parking, road condition, information, vehicle repair garage, etc.



Service providers/volunteers were also surveyed for understanding their hours of services and the nature of services during the event.



Drinking water testing was also carried out by the researchers on 19 samples collected from different sources using Government approved “Prerana Master Kit for Drinking


33

Methodology

Water Quality”. However, the water quality tests were only performed for the 2014 event. 

Resident survey, 40 in number and shopkeeper surveys along Grand road, 30 in number, were also conducted to know about the nature of waste generated and frequency of waste disposal.

The major findings of all these surveys conducted are presented in tables in the following chapter.


34

Results and discussions

35

Chapter 5. Results and discussions

5.1. Preliminary inferences The preliminary inferences from the collected data includes analysis from direct observations, questionnaires and supervision data. 5.1.1. Primary survey of pilgrims Data on pilgrim satisfaction were collected on nine facilities namely drinking water, toilet, food, waste-vat, security, power cut situation, lost and found/ emergency facilities, information announcement, and display boards. Each facility was evaluated on four parameters, namely, availability, adequacy, quality, and signage for analysis. A composite satisfaction score of each facility f, (̅̅̅), was computed as per Equation (1): ̅̅̅

∑

(̅̅̅̅)

Here, the variable „i’ sums across ̅̅̅̅̅, which represents the mean of all scores of the ith parameter belonging to the facility f. Moreover, the variable

represents the total count of

parameters considered for facility f. This composite score is compared with the mean of the overall satisfaction score as responded by the pilgrims when asked through a separate question. From the results, it may be inferred that signages to multiple facilities were lacking. The weightage of each facility was calculated as per Equation (2): ̅̅̅ ∑

(̅)

where N (=10) represents the total count of facilities and j sums across the composite score of each facility (̅̅̅ ). Basically, it is the ratio of the individual means to the summated mean of all N facilities. A Weighted Mean Score (WMS) was obtained using Equation (3): ∑(̅̅̅ ∑

)

∑ ∑

(̅̅̅ ) (̅̅̅)



The Weighted Mean Score (WMS) was found to be closer to the direct response on overall satisfaction than the composite satisfaction score. Hence, it can be inferred that WMS is a better measure of satisfaction than the Composite Satisfaction Score. A mapping of all facility points was conducted and analyzed with respect to the destination. The entire spread of the religious event was found to be over 16 km², with the Bada Danda being the central spine of the event. Despite the road network in the influence region being dense, the “Euclidean Distance” metric was not used for proximity analysis due to heavy irregularities in road geometries. Rather, an accessibility analysis was performed, which provides a better criterion to segregate regions of varying degrees of pedestrian access. A satellite image (raster) of the region was incorporated into ArcGIS software as a base map (underlay), over which facility points and network routes were created by tracing their spots. Since all road features were connected end-to-end, an “end-point” connectivity policy was implemented for setting up accessibility criteria. Elevation fields were not considered due to the absence of significant elevation differences between the network nodes. Since the event is unique, having no relation to regular traffic patterns in the region, traffic data were not incorporated into the data-set. Five service areas were created, considering the same number of equally spaced point locations along the Bada Danda. Network “buffers” of up to 500-, 1000-, 2000-, and 3000 m (or larger) were delineated from these points. In this context, the first buffer (500 m) represented a comfortable walking distance, while the final one (3,000 m) accounted for the city limits. The aggregate area composed of the individual service areas of all five points constituted the consolidated service area of the Bada Danda. The different locations which were marked in the point- “shapefile” (a GIS data format) were then assessed regarding their physical distance from the Bada Danda. After the buffers could classify the facility nodes according to distance category, Dijkstra‟s algorithm was used to measure the shortest routes between the facility points and entry points to the Bada Danda. Roads which had narrow widths or in poor states were physically verified, identified on the map and eliminated beforehand using “point barrier” and “line barrier” on the transport network. The feasibility of new facility points, which were physically marked as potential locations through the initial reconnaissance survey could hence be confirmed as alternative facility points. On analyzing the data collected on basic information of the pilgrims, it was found that 81.7% of the respondents were male. Around 44% of the pilgrims belonged to the age group of 25–40 years, 30.6% were between 40 and 60 years, 4% were above 60, and about 10% of the pilgrims did not disclose their age. Amongst surveyed pilgrims, those who had visited Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

36


Puri earlier amounted to 66%. Over 43% of the pilgrims who were surveyed were graduates, and 34% had qualified the higher secondary level. Most of their monthly income was between INR 3000 (US$ 45) to INR 25,000 (US$ 375). However, when the data of the pilgrims staying in hotels were separately analyzed, it was found that 67% of them were graduates (or of higher qualifications) belonging to a monthly income group starting from INR 10,000 (US$ 150) to INR 40,000 (US$ 600) and above. Hence, it is observed that people of higher income category stay in hotels to avoid the difficulties in reaching the event venue. In both the cases, over 20% of the people did not respond to questions on their income range. More than 84% of the pilgrims were from the state of Odisha, amongst which 34% are from the district, highlighting the significance of the festival in the regional perspective. This pilgrim populace from the district comprised of the walkers and bicycle or motorcycle riders. From such kind of descriptive statistics, it may be observed that male pilgrims visit more than females, probably due to fear of stampede owing to high footfalls and inadequacy of basic infrastructures such as safe accommodation, toilets, or drinking water. The percentage composition of male pilgrims according to age further clarifies that it is mostly the working population between 25 and 60 years who are expected to combat the adversities during the visit represent their families as an act of devotion. Further, they are repeating visitors revealing their auspices towards the festival. It was found that 70% of the overall visitors are repeat visitors and they are a mix of all kind of visitors surveyed except the pilgrims staying in hotels and mathas. Only 50% of such pilgrims are repeat visitors. Statistics on monthly income ranges show that the pilgrims who reside in hotels are educated and well off compared to others. Analysis of the respondent data on access criteria revealed that the people preferred to walk distances in the range of 500 m – 3 km. They also expressed their satisfaction on walking distance in a crowded situation as “reasonable”. However, pilgrims staying at hotels and mathas found it to be “good”, probably arising out of the satisfaction of being located near the event location. Moreover, pilgrims traveling on foot were found to be lesser satisfied than those incoming by private vehicles. The reason may be attributed to the difference in quality or adequacy of the facilities between those which were accessed by pilgrims on foot and those accessed by pilgrims on private vehicles. A similar pattern was found for the composite scores of individual facilities. As far as signage (surveyed on a threepoint scale) are concerned, most pilgrims were found to be quite satisfied, irrespective of category. The “weighted score of facilities” as well as the “overall satisfaction on planning and management” was found to be highest for the pilgrims staying at hotels, mathas, or Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events

37


38

guesthouses. The scores for pilgrims of all categories are presented in Table 9 (for Ratha Yatra 2014) and Table 10 (for Ratha Yatra 2015). Additionally, survey findings reveal that, even if planned against payment, 44% of the pilgrims are willing to avail non-motorized transport modes for short distances. With respect to monthly income levels of pilgrims, the composition of pilgrims willing to pay for the purpose constitutes 49% amongst those with a monthly income level of INR 3000 (US$ 45), 46% of pilgrims with monthly income up to INR 10,000 (US$ 150). Amongst the rest, 36% of those earning up to INR 25,000 (US$ 375) per month, 44% of those with monthly income up to INR 40,000 (US$ 600) and 43% of pilgrims earning more, were supportive of the payment-based travel. On analyzing the satisfaction data according to income category, it was found that higher the individual income, lesser the satisfaction level. In summary, the pilgrims‟ urge of sacrificing basic comforts for witnessing the mega-religious event is revealed through the primary survey results. Table 9. Satisfaction scores of different pilgrim groups under different heads (Ratha Yatra 2014)

Parameter (Ratha Yatra 2014)

Pilgrims on foot

Pilgrims by train

Pilgrims by bus

Pilgrims by private vehicles

120

120

160

160

Pilgrims at hotels/ mathas/ guest houses 120

Satisfaction scores on walking distance only

3.638

3.466

3.663

3.571

4.088

Satisfaction score on facilities only

3.205

3.218

3.494

3.457

3.913

Composite score of individual facilities [considering availability, adequacy, quality, signage] Composite score on signage only

3.260

3.366

3.119

2.987

4.056

2.318

2.520

2.277

1.937

2.595

Weighted score [considering availability, adequacy, quality, signage] Overall satisfaction score on planning and management

3.287

3.425

3.142

3.048

4.102

4.307

3.664

4.019

3.766

4.458

Respondent count



39

Table 10. Satisfaction scores of different pilgrim groups under different heads (Ratha Yatra 2015)

Parameter ( Ratha Yatra 2015)

Pilgrims on foot

Pilgrims by train

Pilgrims by bus 180

Pilgrims by private vehicles 180

Pilgrims at hotels/ mathas 100

120

100

Satisfaction scores on walking distance only

3.683

4.061

3.652

4.352

4.313

Satisfaction score on facilities only

3.672

4.141

3.793

4.403

4.465

Composite score of individual facilities [considering adequacy, quality, signage] Composite score on signage only

3.127

3.580

3.195

3.559

3.986

2.100

2.304

2.146

2.328

2.479

Weighted score [considering adequacy, quality, signage] Overall satisfaction score on planning and management

3.158

3.612

3.234

3.604

4.044

3.575

4.121

3.817

4.244

4.323

Respondent count

5.1.2. Data collected from supervisors The data collected by supervisors on multiple parameters at different times of the event days as recorded from several facility points were analyzed and the averages were calculated. The results are presented in Table 11. From the table, it may be inferred that there were sufficient basic facilities at all locations and they were mostly clean and in working condition. Certain additional facilities like lost and found booths, fire brigades, and signage to all facilities were inadequate at places or insufficient during different times of the day, particularly at nights. Table 11. Analysis of ground verification by Supervisors and its comparison 2014 and 2015

Parameter

Ratha Yatra 2014 (Sample Size=60) Sunny and humid 5 (tankers or taps)

Nabakalebar 2015 (Sample Size=60) Mostly cloudy (58.33%) and humid 2 tankers, 6-10 taps

Working (100%)

Working (98.33%)

Noon

Working (96.67%)

Working (96.67%)

Afternoon

Working (93.33%)

Evening

Working (90%)

Night

Working (86.67%) Frequent (83.33%) or Adequate (16.67%) 7 temporary toilets

Working (86.67%), Manageable (10%) Working (81.67%), Not good (18.33%) Working (83.33%), Not good (15%) Adequate (46.67%) or Frequent (45%) 8-10 mobile toilets

Working (70%)

Clean (78.33%)

Climate Mean Drinking water facility count per location Morning

Drinking water facility condition

Drinking water signage Mean Toilet facility count per location Toilet condition

Morning


Results and discussions Noon

Working (68.33%)

Clean (66.67%)

Afternoon

Working (61.67%)

Clean (50%), Dirty (30%)

Evening

Working (61.67%)

Clean (40%), Dirty (40%)

Night

Working (61.67%)

Clean (41.67%), Dirty (40%)

Frequent (30%) or adequate (40%) 5 Good (60%)

Adequate (50%) or Frequent (23.33%) Free (temporary) shops=2-5, Paid shops = 5-8 Good (90%)

Noon

Good (90%)

Good (91.67%)

Afternoon

Good (95%)

Good (88.33%)

Evening

Good (93.33%)

Good (86.67%)

Night

Good (75%)

Good (85%)

Frequent (30%) or adequate (65%) 5

Adequate (41.67%) or Frequent (38.33%) 8 to 12

Morning

Good (61.67%)

Good control (85%)

Noon

Good (70%)

Good control (86.67%)

Afternoon

Good (75%)


Evening

Good (75%)


Night

Good (70%)

Good control (80%)

Frequent (46.67%) or adequate (30%) 2

Adequate (45%) or Frequent (35%) 2-5

Not Available (51.67%), Good (43.33%), Bad (5%) Not Available (51.67%) or Good (48.33%) Not Available (51.67%) or Good (48.33%) Not Available (51.67%) or Good (48.33%) Not Available (51.67%) or Good (48.33%) Absent (51.67%) or adequate (26.67%) 2

Working (63.33%)

Toilet signage Mean food kiosk facility count per location Morning

Food kiosk condition

Food kiosk signage Mean traffic police count per location

Traffic control quality

Traffic control signage Mean lost and found booth count per location Morning Noon Lost and found booth condition

40

Afternoon Evening Night

Lost and found booth signages Mean first aid booth count per location

Working (66.67%) Working (65%) Working (65%) Working (65%) Adequate (30%) or Frequent (28.33%) 3-5



41

Morning

Good (55%), Bad (26.67%)

Available (71.67%)

Noon

Good (80%)

Available (83.33%)

Afternoon

Good (80%)

Available (78.33%)

Evening

Good (76.67%)

Available (78.33%)

Night

Good (71.67%)

Available (75%)

Adequate(53.33%) or frequent (28.33%) 1

Adequate (45%) or Frequent (30%) 4-5

Average (50%)

Available (68.33%)

Noon

Average (50%)

Available (68.33%)

Afternoon

Average (50%)

Available (70%)

Evening

Average (50%)

Available (70%)

Night

Average (50%)

Available (68.33%)

Morning

Absent (50%) or frequent (31.67%) Around 15-20, but absent in some cases Ceiling fan (31.67%) or blower (23.33%) Average (50%)

Adequate (40%) or Frequent (23.33%) usually 8-10, but higher in some cases Ceiling fan (38.33%) or blower/ table fan (18.33%) Working (43.33%)

Noon

Average (53.33%)

Working (43.33%)

Afternoon

Working (55%)

Working (43.33%)

Evening

Working (55%)

Working (43.33%)

Night

Working (55%)

Working (43.33%)

Mean Light count per location

8

2-5

Light Type

Morning

High Mast (41.66%), Tubelight (25%), Sodium Vapor Lamp (6.6%), bulb (5%) Working (31.67%)

Tubelight (35%), High Mast (25%), Fluorescent (5%), Sodium Vapor Lamp (3.33%) Working (43.33%)

Noon

Working (31.67%)

Working (41.67%)

Afternoon

Working (40%), No (38.33%)

Working (43.33%)

Evening

Working (61.67%)

Working (75%)

Night

Working (78.33%)

Working (86.67%)

First Aid facility condition

First aid facility booth signage Mean fire brigade facility count per location Morning

Fire brigade facility condition

Fire brigade facility signage Mean Fan count per location Fan type

Fan operating condition

Light operating condition



42

Mean Street Light count per location

5

Light Type

Morning

High Mast (71.67%), Sodium Vapor Lamp (15%), Tube light (13.33%) No (63.33%)

Noon

No (63.33%), Yes (31.67%)

Afternoon

No (61.67%), Yes (33.33%)

Evening

Yes (70%), No (26.67%)

Night

Yes (100%)

Street light operating condition

Emergency Numbers

Queue Length at toilets

Queue Length at water outlets

Power cut duration

Parameter not included in survey

Morning

Few (46.67%) or not found (40%) 3.52

Found (66.67%) or not found (25%) 2.36

Noon

3.42

3.10

Afternoon/ Evening

3.48

3.13

Night

3.01

3.04

Morning

3.47

3.10

Noon

3.07

4.03

Afternoon/ Evening

3.16

3.83

Night

2.42

3.54

Morning

Almost none

Under 3 minutes

Noon

Almost none

Under 4 minutes

Afternoon/ Evening

Almost none

Under 4 minutes

Night

Almost none

Under 4 minutes

8

7

5

6

9

15-20

Almost none

15-25

Mean count of local handicraft sellers on foot Mean count of local handicraft hawkers with mobile vehicles Mean count of temporary handicraft shops Mean count of authorized souvenir shops

5.1.3. Survey of pilgrims (as victims) at hospitals and health centers The sample size was taken to be 100, for both events on 2014 and 2015. Patient profiles in various hospitals during Ratha Yatra reveal the increase of disease (39%) or Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events


accident related (38%) cases. Other issues include injuries due to infrastructural damage (12%), fire (3%), and stampede (1%). During the Ratha Yatra, around 6% of the victims succumbed to an enteric disease, while 8% to a non-enteric disease. Around 16% of the people fell victim to food poisoning. Victims with major injuries due to crowding pressure account for 14% of the total, while 40% of the people experienced minor injuries. General illness due to dehydration and sunstroke affected 13% of the victims. It may be noted that the food being served by different organizations, though having central mobile quality checking provisions, was being served in an open environment which is hot, cloudy or humid. This may cause the food not retain its quality leading to diseases. Moreover, the volume of waste generated through such individual service in plates and cups increases the volume of garbage, which needs to be disposed of, before the procession starts. About 97% of the patients in hospitals agreed that the quality of medical attention provided in hospitals had been good during the Ratha Yatra event. Approximately 63% of the patients availed free medicines for treatment, while 36% had to pay for treatment. Medical treatment during Ratha Yatra 2015 has been affordable overall, with 59% agreeing, and 16% disagreeing. The remaining 25% of the people were provided with free treatment. In the case of accident victims, 66% of the patients were lucky to have an ambulance arrive within 5-10 minutes of the incident. In 21% of the cases, medical care took around 1530 minutes to arrive, while for 13% of the victims the time taken was longer. Roughly 96% of the surveyed patients agreed to have experienced quick administration of first aid at the spot of the accident/injury. 5.1.4. Analysis of drivers survey data at parking areas The sample size for driver survey in parking areas was 120. 

About 1.67% of the surveyed drivers earned up to INR 20 per trip, and 8.33% made INR 50-100. Approximately 35.83% of the drivers received INR 120-500. For long distances, 15.83% of the drivers received INR 600-2000. Roughly 20% of the drivers (coming from other states) earned more.



Around 33.3% of the drivers undertook a single trip to carry passengers, and 19.17% took two to three trips. Approximately 32.5% of the drivers undertook three to five trips, while 4.17% completed more trips.


43




44

Almost 67.5% of the surveyed drivers took NH-203 to enter Puri, while 30% availed the New Jagannath Road. About 63.33% of the drivers acknowledged the presence of notifications for space availability in parking areas.



About 7.5% of the drivers had to pay a parking fee of up to INR 30, and 72.50% of the drivers had to pay a fee in the range of INR 40-100. Roughly 15.83% of the drivers had to pay more for availing a parking space.



Approximately 53.33% of the drivers acknowledged the presence of adequate petrol pumps/ vehicle repairing facilities en route to Puri. Around 11.67% of the people could not locate such facilities on their route. The remaining 35% of the drivers did not need any such facility.



Around 36.67% and 48.33% of the drivers confirmed the presence of loudspeakers and radio reports, respectively, broadcasting the road traffic situation en route to Puri. Around 14.17% of the drivers failed to receive any such notifications.



Roughly 27.50% of the drivers found a free traffic flow when coming to the city and 46.67% found a smooth flow. Around 19.17% faced a controlled flow, and 4.17% were held up in a jam.



Around 75% of the people acknowledged the presence of separate entry and exit routes for vehicles, while 21.67% disagreed.

The following table (Table 12) compares patients in hospitals during Ratha Yatras 2014 and 2015. Table 12. Comparative study of victims during Ratha Yatra 2014 and 2015 at Sadar Hospital, Puri

Patients during Ratha Yatra 2014 (Sample Size=80)

Patients during Nabakalebar 2015 (Sample Size=100)

Remarks

Patient profiles include 35% accident victims, 27.5% diseased, 36.25% stampede victims and 1.25% injured due to infrastructural damage.

Patient profiles in various hospitals highlight the increase in disease (39%) or accident related (38%) cases. Other issues include injuries due to infrastructural damage (12%), fire (3%), and stampede (1%).

Improved in 2015



45

About 3.75% of victims were affected by an enteric disease, and 1.25% to nonenteric disease. Food poisoning happened to 16.25% of the victims. While only 3.75% of the victims had major injuries, 68.75% of the people had minor injuries. General illness affected 16.25% of the people.

Around 6% of the victims were affected by an enteric disease, while 8% to a nonenteric disease. Around 16% of the people fell victim to food poisoning. Victims with major injuries due to crowding pressure account for 14% of the total, while 40% of the people experienced minor injuries. General illness due to dehydration and sunstroke affected 13% of the victims.

Improved in 2015

Around 96.25% of the patients praised the high quality of medical attention provided at hospitals.

About 97% of the patients in hospitals agreed that the quality of medical attention provided in hospitals had been good during the Ratha Yatra event.

Better in 2014

Only 22.5% of the patients were satisfied with the adequacy of beds, while 52.5% were unsatisfied.

Roughly 65% of the victims were satisfied with the adequacy of beds in hospitals. However, 31% of the victims complained of bed shortages.

Improved in 2015

Roughly 87.5% of the victims availed free treatment during Ratha Yatra.

Approximately 63% of the patients availed free medicines for treatment, while 36% had to pay for treatment.

Better in 2014

The cost of treatment was nominal or moderate, as agreed by 52.5% of victims.

The cost of treatment was low/moderate, as agreed by 53% of victims. However, 38% of the patients had to pay between INR 1000-2000.

Better in 2014

Affordability of treatment at hospitals was high, with 95% agreeing.

Treatment during Ratha Yatra 2015 has been affordable, with 59% agreeing, and 16% disagreeing. The remaining 25% of the people were provided with free treatment.

Better in 2014

Approximately 63.75% of the patients acknowledged the availability of reserve blood.

Around 41% of the patients found reserve blood adequate.

Better in 2014

Around 90% of patients found an ambulance within 5-10 minutes of the accident/illness, while 6.25% had to wait up to 30 minutes. For 3.75% of the patients, it took longer.

In the case of illness/accident victims, 66% of the patients were lucky to have an ambulance arrive within 5-10 minutes of the incident. In 21% of cases, medical care took around 15-30 minutes to arrive, while for 13% of the victims the time taken was longer.

Better in 2014

98.75% of the patients were quickly administered first aid.

Roughly 96% of the surveyed patients agreed to have experienced quick administration of first aid at the spot of the accident/injury.

Better in 2014



46

A study of the drivers‟ responses on the facilities for both 2014 and 2015 are recorded in Table 13. Table 13. Comparative table of driver responses at Ratha Yatra 2014 and 2015 Parameter

Year

Very Satisfied (%)

Somewhat Satisfied (%)

Just manageable (%)

Dissatisfied (%)

Very dissatisfied (%)

Did not respond (%)

Parking Space for individual vehicle

2014 2015

9.17 29.17

26.67 37.50

23.33 28.33

21.67 2.50

5.00 0.00

14.17 2.50

Public Announcement system regarding vehicle movement Display Board regarding vehicle movement Traffic management when coming to Puri

2014 2015

12.50 32.50

41.67 39.17

20.83 25.83

15.00 0.83

5.83 0.00

4.17 1.67

2014 2015

15.00 27.50

24.17 46.67

29.17 19.17

11.67 2.50

17.50 0.00

2.50 4.17

2014 2015

28.33 32.50

47.50 44.17

19.17 23.33

0.83 2.50

0.00 0.00

0.00 1.67

Vehicle manoeuvring (Circulation) space

2014 2015

25.00 21.67

24.17 50.00

24.17 21.67

23.33 4.17

2.50 0.00

0.83 2.50

Availability of drinking water

2014 2015

25.83 29.17

47.50 54.17

15.00 12.50

9.17 1.67

1.67 0.00

0.83 2.50

Availability of food

2014 2015

21.67 26.67

45.00 49.17

21.67 17.50

10.00 5.00

0.00 0.00

1.67 1.67

Availability of toilets

2014 2015

23.33 44.17

55.83 42.50

8.33 9.17

6.67 2.50

5.00 0.00

0.83 1.67

Overall Planning & Management

2014 2015

64.17 46.67

20.83 34.17

11.67 13.33

1.67 3.33

0.83 0.00

0.83 2.50

5.1.5. Analysis of responses of service providers (Sample size=40) The service providers (both voluntary and governmental) were surveyed on the period of their engagement to service delivery. The sample size for this survey was considered to be 40. 

The composition of service providers during Ratha Yatra 2015 included 15% street sweepers/ cleaners, around 25%, and 42.5% of the workers were engaged in food and water distribution, respectively. Traffic controllers accounted for 5% of the staff strength. The rest included in ambulance staff (2.5%), first aid related (7.5%) and water spraying personnel (2.5%).





About 67.5% of the service workers were engaged on a daily basis, and 12.5% on a shift basis and the remaining 20% staff was working on-call basis (report to work on requirement).



Approximately 90% of the service workers agreed on the adequacy of the existing workforce for proper service management.



Around 97.5% of the surveyed staff was working voluntarily.

5.1.6. Resident and shopkeeper survey The waste generated mostly comprised of used cups and plates (paper/ plastic/ thermocol), used water pouches and soft drink bottles and polythene bags. The frequency of collection was not satisfactory even during Ratha Yatra 2014 as reported by residents during survey. Enough awareness campaigns amongst general masses and service providers for waste prevention is also not organized by the authorities as found in this survey. From the analysis of the resident survey data, it was observed that residents are reasonably satisfied with the overall management of the pilgrims during Ratha Yatra and they visit for darshan mostly during night time in the lesser crowded situation. They also faced the difficulties of traveling the to and from the city during the festival days. Residents usually offer their houses to pilgrims for temporary stay during the festival on a rented basis. This fact establishes the possibility that the city administration can account such residences as potential accommodation places and can formally declare them and make them known to pilgrims. 5.1.7. Waste Management Studies were conducted on 40 residents and 30 shopkeepers in the city, selected by uniform random sampling, particularly within the vicinity (500 meters) of the Grand Road (event location). It was found that 32.5% of the residents and 26.6% admitted that waste collection was completed within a day of the Ratha Yatra event. Around 25% of the surveyed sample of residents and 16.6% of the shopkeepers complained that waste collection needed at least 2-3 days. The rest were not satisfied with the waste collection scheme of the administration. According to the shopkeepers, Paper cups/plates, Used water pouches/bottles and polythene bags constituted the top three waste generating items in descending order in the festival. For the resident survey, the paper utensils posed a slightly lesser problem as compared to water pouches and polythene carry-bags, mainly because food stalls were in a higher proportion on the Grand Road than near the residential areas.


47

400 325 225

150

0

Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events 275 300

"Lifedrops" pouch (250ml, Rs.2); Bada Danda Kiosk

350

"Fresh" Pouch (250ml, Re.1); Rotary Club

750 50 50


0


Loknath Temple, Temporary Shade

Talabania Temporary Shade

Yatrika, City Bus Stand

Talabania Bus Stand

100


900 150


350 Mashima Tenmple, Grand Road

150


525 75

Talabania Bus Stand

500 Markandeshwar Sahi, North Gate, Puri

100

Mashima Tenmple, Grand Road

650 PHEO, Gundicha Temple

PHED, Bhadrak

75

Markandeshwar Sahi, North Gate, Puri

325 125

PHEO, Gundicha Temple

600 Akhya Patra, Grand Road

Narendra Kona, Puri 125

PHED, Bhadrak

300 Loknath Mnadir Handpump

125

Akhya Patra, Grand Road

200 Baliapanda Shed Water Tank (Sintex)

Railway Station Shed Tap

75

Narendra Kona, Puri

700

Loknath Mnadir Handpump

0 Talabania Drinking & bath

100

Baliapanda Shed Water Tank (Sintex)

100 Handpump on Beach front of Puri Hotel

225


300 275

Talabania Drinking & bath

800

Handpump on Beach front of Puri Hotel

400 Sea Water

Hotel Vishal(Tap Water)

400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

Sea Water


Results and discussions 48

5.1.8. Water quality survey

Drinking water quality testing; was performed on parameters of: Hardness, Alkalinity, Nitrate

Content, Flouride, Chloride, Iron content, pH, turbidity; as per directions in Master Kit for

Drinking Water Analysis by Prerana® Laboratories. Water samples, 19 in number, were taken

from various points in the city. Results are mentioned in Figure 12. Figure 12. Chemical composition of water collected at various locations during Ratha Yatra 2014 (Source: Author)

375

Chloride content (ppm)

225 175 125

Hardness (as CaCO3, ppm) 800

650 475 375

5

5

5

5

5

Narendra Kona, Puri


7 0.1

25

5

4

8


5

50 50


0.1

7


0.1

"Lifedrops" pouch (250ml, Rs.2); Bada…


5

0.1


100


5


250



Nitrate content (ppm)


0.2


0.2


0.2


250



0.6

Talabania Bus Stand

Flouride content (ppm)

Talabania Bus Stand

1.5 Mashima Tenmple, Grand Road

125



200


250

Talabania Bus Stand

5


8


300


0.1


PHED, Bhadrak


Narendra Kona, Puri

Loknath Mnadir Handpump 325


0.1

PHED, Bhadrak

0.2


Narendra Kona, Puri

0.2





325

PHED, Bhadrak

10 0.2


0.3




400


0.1


0.1


Sea Water


300


2.5


30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0.2


1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Sea Water


500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

Sea Water



Alkalinity content (ppm)

400 450

300 200 250 125

0.2

4

0.2

0.1

0.1

Guideline development for infrastructural facilities at mega religious events "Fresh" Pouch (250ml, Re.1); Rotary Club "Lifedrops" pouch (250ml, Rs.2); Bada Danda Kiosk

0

0

0

0



Talabania Temporary Shade Loknath Temple, Temporary Shade

0.1


0


1


2


0.4

0.1 Talabania Bus Stand

1

Talabania Bus Stand

0.7 Mashima Tenmple, Grand Road

0.1


Iron content (ppm) Markandeshwar Sahi, North Gate, Puri


2


0 PHED, Bhadrak 1


0.1 Akhya Patra, Grand Road

2

PHED, Bhadrak

0.1 Narendra Kona, Puri

4



2

Narendra Kona, Puri

1


1


3


0.1


0


0.1 Talabania Drinking & bath

2


0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Handpump on Beach front of Puri Hotel

4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0


2

2 1 2 "Lifedrops" pouch (250ml, Rs.2); Bada Danda Kiosk





Talabania Bus Stand




PHED, Bhadrak


Narendra Kona, Puri






Sea Water


4

Sea Water


6

Sea Water



pH

12

10

8

0

Turbidity (NTU)

3 2

1 1


51

The results indicate that the drinking water quality is best in the eastern part of Puri than the western part. The Talabania area is a sweet water zone, and hence it faces hindrances due to development. However, wherever there are special installations of temporary water tanks or availability of pouches, the water quality was generally better, as compared to the other areas. 5.2.

Detail analysis of pilgrim satisfaction A similar survey, as conducted in 2014, was repeated in 2015 when a substantial

initiative was taken by the authority to carry out the Nabakalebar festival. Except editing the questionnaire and changing the scale of some parameters, the survey procedure was largely kept similar for 2015. The descriptive statistics results were found to be similar for both the 2014 and 2015 events. The actuals are presented in Table 14. Table 14. Descriptive statistics of pilgrim profiles at Nabakalebar 2015

Characteristics of pilgrims

Descriptive statistics

Pilgrims‟ gender Distribution

Male=77% Female=22%

Age group

Within 18-25 yrs = 21.03% Within 25-40 yrs = 48.2% Within 40-60 yrs = 23.5%

Percentage of revisits to the city

70%

Percentage who attended similar pilgrimages

51%

Monthly Income level

Upto INR 10000 (US$160) =47% Upto INR 25,000 (US$ 390) =24%.

A separate, detailed analysis of the 2015 dataset to find out the factor structure of the different parameters measuring the variables was carried out and discussed in the following sections. The results were published in Gupta and Basak (2018). A two-step methodology, initially using exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) with an objective to reduce the number of variables was conducted. Later, these factors were reassessed through Partial least squares-path modeling (PLS-PM) to identify the strength of the relationship of each factor with pilgrim satisfaction. Figure 13 depicts the layout of major facility locations with relative satisfaction on adequacy of individual facilities.



Figure 13. Map of Puri city showing layout of facility locations with relative satisfaction on adequacy of individual facilities (Source: Gupta & Basak, 2018)

5.2.1. Principal component analysis of pilgrim satisfaction After collection of the data from the primary survey, the next step was to identify groups or factors of individual indicators which explains the satisfaction, thereby reducing the number of variables or dimensions. Initially, the raw dataset was checked for skewness and kurtosis and tested through Kolmogorov - Smirnov procedure to verify for normality in distribution. Though results did not indicate a normal distribution, it did not affect further analysis. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was chosen as the linear dimension reduction technique. The PCA was conducted to reduce the large set of variables into a smaller set of factors that best explains the data. Five components were extracted with item loadings ranging from to 0.487 to 0.801 with 68.81% of the total explained variance. Table 15 provides the descriptive statistics of the indicators, the extracted factors, and the corresponding indicator loadings.


52


53

Table 15. Independent variables and their component structure Indicator Name

Description

Mean

3.855

0.948

-0.596

-0.030

LIGHT_qual Quality of lighting

3.890

0.921

-0.643

0.142

Component Varian ce explain ed 0.761 Component I 16.30% (Quality of 0.754 Basic Facilities) 0.749

FAN_qual

Quality of fans (speed)

3.918

0.912

-0.659

0.163

FOOD_qual

Quality of food

DUST_qual

Quality of dustbins/wastevats

3.775

1.053

-0.943

0.776

0.720

ACCO_qual

Quality of accommodation

4.029

0.950

-0.764

0.098

0.664

TWS_qual

Quality of water supply (at toilets)

3.855

0.918

-0.543

0.059

0.642

TOI_qual

Quality of toilets

3.899

0.876

-0.614

0.317

0.593

OTH_adq

Adequacy of other facilities

3.547

1.240

-0.552

-0.605

0.745

LFE_adq

Adequacy of lost and found booths

3.511

1.204

-0.490

-0.583

DUST_adq

Adequacy of dustbins/ wastevats

3.449

1.267

-0.469

-0.752

IA_adq

3.605

1.192

-0.513

-0.594

FOOD_adq

Adequacy of information announcements Adequacy of food

Component II 15.84% (Adequacy of 0.738 ancillary & 0.687 basic facilities) 0.658

3.621

1.130

-0.443

-0.578

0.648

SCU_adq

Adequacy of security

3.655

1.157

-0.547

-0.514

0.591

LIGHT_adq

Adequacy of lighting

3.712

1.086

-0.519

-0.374

0.588

FAN_adq

Adequacy of fans

3.687

1.098

-0.516

-0.430

0.582

ACCO_adq

Adequacy of accommodation

3.632

1.114

-0.496

-0.468

0.560

DISP_qual

Quality of display boards

4.059

1.047

-0.855

-0.195

0.801

IA_qual

Quality of information announcements Adequacy of display boards

4.047

1.023

-0.824

-0.135

0.760

3.724

1.195

-0.584

-0.645

0.678

3.625

1.155

-0.420

-0.793

0.657

SCU_qual

Adequacy of cultural & devotional events Quality of security facilities

3.954

0.924

-0.751

0.402

0.580

DUST_sign

Signage of Dustbin/wastevats

2.352

0.586

-0.268

-0.681

0.675

FOOD_sign

Signage of food outlets

2.352

0.563

-0.144

-0.742

0.660

SCU_sign

Signage of security outlet

2.363

0.558

-0.138

-0.789

0.594

ACCO_sign

Signage of accommodation location

2.380

0.572

-0.254

-0.757

0.585

DRINK_sign Signage of drinking water outlet

2.437

0.554

-0.286

-0.930

0.547

TOI_sign

2.336

0.541

0.020

-0.773

0.487

DRINK_adq Adequacy of drinking water

3.878

1.122

-0.769

-0.227

0.708

TOI_adq

Adequacy of toilets

3.711

1.077

-0.678

-0.098

TWS_adq

Adequacy of water supply (at toilets)

3.680

1.112

-0.524

-0.427

DRINK_qual Quality of drinking water

4.041

0.924

-0.760

0.174

Discarded indicators from PCA: LFE_sign Signage of Lost and Found facilities

1.599

0.558

0.213

-0.868

OTH_sign

1.556

0.553

0.297

-0.945

1.564

0.558

0.308

-0.895

4.088

0.872

-0.836

0.712

4.009

0.913

-0.655

0.051

DISP_adq CDE_adq

Signage of toilets

Signage of other facilities Signage of cultural and devotional CDE_sign events Indicators measuring overall satisfaction: SATISFY_fa Satisfaction with facilities c SATISFY_pl Satisfaction with planning & ng management _mgmt

S.D. Skewne Kurtosis PCA ss loading


Component III 12.62% (Quality of ancillary facilities)

Component IV 12.27% (Signage)

Component V 11.77% (Adequacy and 0.664 quality of 0.621 physiological 0.549 needs)


It is observed that the majority of the mean responses towards individual facilities are in the range 3-4, as recorded on the Likert scale. However, the standard deviations are above one, indicating a wide range of responses. This result is inconclusive at the present stage, and hence would be unwise to conclude on pilgrim satisfaction from this table itself. During the PCA process, three indicators with poor loadings (less than 0.45) were not included for further analysis, as recommended by Comrey and Lee (1992). These variables were, namely, “LFE_sign,” (Signage of Lost and Found facilities) “OTH_sign” (Signage of other facilities) and “CDE_sign” (Signage of cultural and devotional events). Initially, all 34 manifest variables (indicators) were standardized for the process. Only those components were extracted which had eigenvalues larger than one, as recommended by Pallant (2007). Missing entries were deleted listwise before analysis, resulting in 624 valid cases. The PCA was run using orthogonal VARIMAX rotation with Kaiser Normalization. The Kaiser-Olkin-Meyer (KMO) test for sampling adequacy was evaluated to be 0.965, indicating a good prospect for analyzing internal factor structure (Dziuban & Shirkey, 1974). The output for Bartlett‟s test of sphericity was significant (chi-square = 17678.38, degrees of freedom= 561, p