Police personnel keep vigil as part of safety precautions the day after a stampede at Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Thursday. PTI Photo
Kumbh Mela LIVE | UP chief secy, DGP at the spot for post-stampede review
Five special secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations and they will remain in Prayagraj until Feb 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements
Following the stampede at the Maha Kumbh on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a slew of guidelines on crowd management, traffic flow, prevention of build-up of devotees and coordination among departments.
The administration has implemented five major changes, including declaring the entire fair area a No-Vehicle Zone. Besides, no special passes will allow vehicle entry, eliminating any exceptions.
The chief minister ordered the deployment of Ashish Goyal, who served as Divisional Commissioner of Prayagraj during Kumbh 2019, and Bhanu Goswami, a former Vice Chairman of ADA, to further strengthen the arrangements, according to an official statement.
Adityanath asked the chief secretary and the director general of police to conduct a thorough review of the Maha Kumbh Mela arrangements on Thursday. "Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami," he said.
He said the incumbent ADG and the District Magistrate of Prayagraj must ensure safe and smooth departure of every devotee.
Five Special Secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations, according to the government statement.
It said they will remain in Prayagraj until February 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements. Moreover, Superintendent of Police-level officers will also be deployed for enhanced management and security, the statement said.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh Wednesday as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of one of the most auspicious days of Mauni Amavasya.
In light of the tragedy, the chief minister conducted a late-night video conference with senior police officers and officials from multiple districts including Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mirzapur, Basti, Jaunpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Ambedkarnagar, Pratapgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi, Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur.
After reviewing updates from the ADG and the District Magistrate of Prayagraj, the CM emphasised the need for heightened vigilance and caution in the mela area, according to the official statement.
The incident comes days after a massive fire reduced at least 18 tents to ashes at the fair following a cylinder blast.
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Live Updates
- 29 Jan 2025 10:31 AM GMT
AAP blames mismanagement for Maha Kumbh chaos, calls for end to VIP culture
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has blamed administrative mismanagement for the stampede-like situation at the Maha Kumbh, calling for an end to VIP culture and stricter crowd management.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, during a press conference, described the scenes from the religious gathering as “scary”.
Referring to videos circulating on social media, Singh said, “I saw a woman desperately trying to give oxygen from her mouth to her family member to save him. This is heartbreaking.”
Singh also pointed out that Mahamandaleshwar Premanand Puri Ji had urged authorities to hand over the event's arrangements to the army, but his request was rejected.
“We never wanted to comment on this, but the reality is clear — VIP culture is the main problem. Roads are being closed for VIP movement, causing chaos for the devotees,” he alleged.
According to Singh, the administration only arrived at the scene at 1 am and started forcing people to take a holy dip (snan), which led to panic.
“This created a stampede-like situation. My heart goes out to those affected. I appeal to the chief minister to immediately stop all VIP movements at the Maha Kumbh,” he added.
Meanwhile, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi expressed sorrow over the incident on the social media platform X.
Atishi, calling the incident “extremely tragic”, wrote in Hindi: “The stampede at Maha Kumbh is deeply saddening. I pray for the departed souls and strength for their families in this difficult time. All devotees should remain calm and follow security guidelines to ensure a safe event.”
Kejriwal reacted to the incident similarly, urging devotees to exercise caution. “The stampede at Maha Kumbh is extremely sad. I pray for the peace of the departed souls and strength for their families. I humbly appeal to all devotees to remain patient, follow administrative instructions, and take care of each other’s safety,” he said in a post.
- 29 Jan 2025 10:08 AM GMT
Eyewitness accounts on stampede
Sarojini, a devotee from Karnataka, told PTI Videos: "We came in a batch of 60 people in two buses, we were nine people in the group. Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled. There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides."
A man from Chhattarpur in Madhya Pradesh said his mother was injured and hospitalised, while a middle-aged couple from Meghalaya walked away from the crowd, both of them sobbing and narrating to reporters their harrowing experience of getting caught in the ruckus.
Another woman at the hospital, whose child suffered injuries in the chaos, narrated her ordeal, claiming, "There was nowhere to go. Some people who pushed us were laughing while we begged them for kindness towards the children."
