Goa, May 23 -- Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has urged district administrations to implement comprehensive planning for large public events, especially religious gatherings, to prevent disasters like the Shirgao temple stampede, which left six dead and nearly 100 injured earlier this month.

Addressing All India Services Officers in Goa, Dhankhar stressed that the bureaucracy must embody transparency and accountability, cautioning that proximity to political power can erode administrative integrity.

Citing the Shree Devi Lairai Zatra tragedy, he echoed the findings of a state-appointed committee that blamed the incident on poor planning and crowd mismanagement, calling for urgent systemic reforms to ensure public safety.

In a...