Prayagraj, Jan 30 (PTI) Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh on Thursday visited Swaroop Rani Memorial Hospital to meet the victims of the Maha Kumbh stampede, which claimed 30 lives and left 60 injured during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual.
During his visit, the Congress leader strongly criticised the Kumbh administration and police, calling the incident a “major failure in crowd management.” Singh alleged that the Kumbh administration was negligent and did not take expert advice despite repeated warnings.
“We had anticipated this. Our state president, Ajay Rai, and I even held a press conference in Lucknow, warning that the administration was careless and unwilling to consult experienced officials from past Kumbh events,” he said.
According to Singh, the Kumbh Committee did not hold a single meeting to discuss arrangements, leading to the “chaotic and disorganised handling” of the massive influx of devotees.
“The arrangements were only for VIPs. Ordinary devotees and Kalpavasis suffered, while high-profile guests enjoyed luxury accommodations and moved around in large convoys. Pilgrims, priests, and boatmen were left struggling,” he told PTI Videos.
He also highlighted the lack of sanitation facilities, saying that women were forced to knock on doors in residential areas to use restrooms. “Who is responsible for this?” he asked.
Singh criticised the administration for closing all 30 pontoon bridges, which, according to him, contributed to the stampede.
“Who ordered these closures? Even I was stopped for hours; imagine what the devotees must have gone through. If I, an MP, faced this treatment, what must have happened to the common pilgrims?” he said.
He also attacked the Uttar Pradesh government, accusing it of failing to complete key infrastructure projects like the six-lane bridge at Phaphamau, the Lucknow highway connection, and inner roads.
“A corpus of Rs 7,000 crore was spent on this Kumbh, yet basic infrastructure remains incomplete. We had demanded a white paper on the spending because it’s clearly not visible. Now there should be an independent audit by a Supreme Court judge or a Joint Parliamentary Committee,” Singh said.
Singh also dismissed the three-member committee formed by the government, calling it “an attempt to cover up the mismanagement.” He demanded strict action against those responsible for the planning failures and increased compensation for victims – Rs 50 lakh for the dead and Rs 10 lakh for the injured.
He also urged the administration to ensure safe transportation of victims and their families back home.
The Allahabad MP called for a ban on VIP movement in the Kumbh Mela area until February 3.
“After February 3, everyone is welcome. But before that, if they come, they should come as pilgrims, not as VIPs,” he asserted.
Singh accused the government of treating the Maha Kumbh as an event management project rather than respecting its spiritual significance.
“This is a sacred land of tapasya (penance), tyag (sacrifice), and devotion. The government tried to exploit it for political gain, and now they are facing the consequences,” he said. PTI KIS VN VN
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