A video capturing a massive crowd on a weekend trek to Harihar Fort, considered one of India’s most dangerous hiking trails, has gone viral on social media, sparking discussions over safety and regulation. The Harihar fort is located in the Nashik district of Maharashtra and is known for its unique rock-cut staircase and steep steps that ultimately lead to the summit. Even with the risk involved, the video captured hundreds of people on the trek, with some even clinging onto rocks, in a tightly packed trail leading to the fort. People were seen sitting on the edge, risking a fatal fall. Harihar fort is built on a rock shaped like a triangular prism. Two of its edges and all three sides are straight up at 90 degrees, while the third edge on the west slopes at a steep 75-degree angle. A very narrow, one-meter-wide staircase is carved into the rock with 117 steps in total. “Another major incident waiting to happen..? Harihar Fort weekend crowd surge is death trap!! This needs to be stopped/moderated else. One minor stampede or someone loosing balance and it will have cascading effect and hundreds will fall to there death.”, the post on X said.The video has garnered over 900,000 views, with netizens voicing out their concerns over safety and regulations in place about such a congested trekking trail. A user commented “Are people mad or what! Why do they have to visit such crowded places? This is a disaster waiting to happen. And administration should restrict the number of people that can visit the first at one time”.”That is madness without proper regulation or order in such places. Adventure without safety provisions are suicide trap nothing else”, said another use.Questioning how the situation came to be like this, another user commented “Forest department Nasik controls it, it charges fees. It was decided that only 300 tourists per day will be allowed,not followed by them. Now I after seeing this video last week, they have curtailed tourists. Don’t know what action is taken on errant officials”. The situation has reignited a debate on how India is equipped to deal with an ever-increasing tourist footfall with the shadow of the deadly Bangalore stampede that claimed 11 lives and injured over 30 others, still fresh in the public memory.
