In a drastic move following severe public backlash, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has shut its doors to all general visitors for the remainder of its famed annual cultural festival, Mood Indigo. This decision comes a day after an overwhelming and unexpected crowd triggered a massive traffic gridlock on the crucial Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR).
Official Announcement and Immediate Action
The institute made its stance clear through an official post on the social media platform X on Wednesday morning. The statement declared that all pre-registrations for Mood Indigo events stand cancelled. Furthermore, it imposed a complete ban on entry for any outsider for both Wednesday and Thursday, the final two days of the three-day festival. The only exceptions to this blanket ban are competition participants and current residents of the IIT Bombay campus.
The Chaos That Led to the Shutdown
The extreme measure was a direct response to the chaotic scenes witnessed on Tuesday, the festival's opening day. An unexpectedly large number of attendees, including a significant portion who had not registered beforehand, descended upon the Powai campus. This surge led to severe traffic congestion that lasted for several hours outside the institute's gates, bringing the JVLR to a standstill.
Commuters were left stranded in their vehicles for long periods, and even campus residents found themselves unable to enter or exit the institute during the peak of the jam. An official spokesperson for IIT Bombay explained that the crowd situation quickly became unmanageable for both the institute's security and the Mumbai Traffic Police.
Safety Concerns Take Precedence
"Registered and unregistered visitors queued up outside the gate for hours, and some even became unruly," the spokesperson revealed. "In view of safety and traffic concerns, we decided to block entry to all visitors for the remaining two days, except the participants." This highlights that the primary drivers for the cancellation were public safety and the restoration of local traffic order, outweighing the continuation of open public access to the festival.
The incident has put a spotlight on the logistical challenges of managing large-scale public events in a densely populated city like Mumbai. While Mood Indigo is a highly anticipated event, the institute's decisive action underscores the importance of crowd control and infrastructure preparedness to prevent such disruptions in the future.
