Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh: At least a dozen people are feared dead in a stampede that broke out a few hours before the Shahi Snan (royal bath) in the early hours of Wednesday at the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.
Over 50 injured devotees are being treated in various medical facilities where they were rushed by 60-plus ambulances, according to the local police, adding that the incident took place between 1 am and 2 am when some devotees climbed over the barricades at Akhara Marg.
Crowds swelled outside the hospitals and medical camps as people frantically searched for their missing kin. At the site of the stampede, scenes of chaos emerged as people’s belongings lay strewn on the ground.
Aerial monitoring of the Mahakumbh area is now being done through a helicopter. “People should maintain peace. The number of casualties will be made public as soon as the situation comes under control,” Special Executive Officer, Mela Authority, Akanksha Rana, told the media.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged the people at large not to listen to any rumour. “All of you should follow the instructions of the administration, cooperate in making arrangements. Bathing is taking place peacefully at all the ghats of Sangam. Do not pay attention to any rumour at all,” he posted on ‘X’.
Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajesh Dwivedi, meanwhile, said that there was no stampede. There were excessive crowds due to which devotees were injured, he told ANI.
Surajpal Singh, a resident of Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur, told ThePrint that his father and maternal uncle were missing since around 3 o’clock in the night. “My two daughters fainted in the stampede. … There was no arrangement for the common people here,” he said, with tears in his eyes.
Arrangements should have been made accordingly when the administration knew that so much public would arrive, Singh said.
“So many bridges were built but the bridges were closed. So many people have died. Who knows my father is also among them? I have been searching for him since morning,” he said, adding that the scene during the stampede was horrific.
Thousands of devotees had reached Prayagraj as a holy bath of Mauni Amavasya is scheduled on 29 January. According to the administration, around 9 crore people are expected to take bath on Mauni Amavasya. Over 5 crore people took the holy dip on Tuesday. The Mahakumbh started on 13 January and will continue till 26 February.
Sikander Nishad, who operates a boat at Sangam Ghat, said that around 1.30 am, there was a stampede due to the sudden increase in the crowd. “The situation went completely out of control. There was chaos for about two hours. People were separated from their relatives, and many were crying bitterly,” he told The Print.
People flocked to the ‘khoya-paya kendras’ (lost and found centres) in various sectors of the mela ground as they got separated from their near and dear ones in the commotion, he said. “Everyone is coming in search of their relatives.”
Several akharas, which were to participate in the big event, called off ‘Shahi Snan’ (royal bath) in the wake of the stampede. In related development, a lawyer has filed a petition to the State Human Rights Commission in connection with the stampede.
‘Most pontoon bridges were closed’
While 30 pontoon bridges were installed in an area of about 20-25 km from Phaphamau to Arail Ghat to facilitate movement of devotees across the river, most of these overpasses remained closed for the last three days.
The crowds reaching Sangam gathered at one place due to the closure of these bridges, according to Sunil Kumar, an eyewitness. He further said that the entry and exit routes were not kept separate.
“People were going back from the same route from which they were coming. In such a situation, when the stampede occurred, people fell on each other,” said Kumar.
The pontoon bridges, a local official said, were closed so that people from one side could be prevented from going to the other side to manage the crowds.
Due to VIP arrivals in the last few days, roads were diverted in many areas. On 27 January, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reached Prayagraj, due to which a large part of Sangam Ghat was closed by putting barricades.
The diversion due to VIP arrivals was corroborated by Anita Kumari, a devotee who came all the way from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district on 27 January. “We have been walking for several kilometres. All the roads were closed,” she said.
The administration has now deployed NSG and Rapid Action Force (RPF) personnel as part of its measure to check the crowds at Sangam area.
The devotees coming from the adjacent districts have been stopped at the border itself so that the crowd does not increase in Prayagraj, an official of the Kumbh Mela administration said. “The injured people are being treated, and the number of dead could not be confirmed as staff and volunteers are busy in relief work,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: More than 7 killed, 10 injured in stampede at Mahakumbh
Prayagraj SSP says there was no stampede, but excessive crowding. So during AMRIT KAAL, no bad terms like stampede can be used. You don’t say people died, you say they got MOKSHYA PRAPTI! That’s sounds better.