3-member Judicial Commission to probe what led to stampede
Arun Srivastava / Maha Kumbh Paryagraj
At least 30 people, mostly women were officially confirmed dead and around 60 devotees were injured after a “stampede-like” situation broke out at the Sangam on Wednesday amid the ongoing Maha Kumbh as a large number of pilgrims turned up for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday amid a huge crowds converging at the Sangam and all other ghats created along a 12-km long range of river banks for the Maha Kumbh.
The Triveni Sangam — confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati — is considered the holiest by Hindus, with a belief that taking a dip in it during Maha Kumbh and particularly on special bathing dates like Mauni Amavasya washes away people’s sins and provides them ‘moksha’ or salvation.
The ‘Amrit snan’ of the 13 akharas, however, completed late today amid tight security measures.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said around 8 crore devotees were in Prayagraj on Wednesday for Mauni Amavasya.
He announced Rs 25 lakh each as compensation to the families of the 30 deceased. He also announced a 3-member Judicial Commission led by High Court Justice ( Retd) Harsh Kumar to probe into the incident. Ex DGP V K Gupta and former IAS officer V K Singh will be the other members of the Commission.
UP Police will separately probe the incident to find out the reason behind the lapses.
He said the DGP and Chief Secretary will rush to Prayagraj tomorrow to assess the situation.
DIG Mahakumbh Vaibhav Krishna told reporters here that 30 pilgrims succumbed to their injuries. He said 25 deceased have been identified, among them 4 were from Karnataka and one each from Gujarat and Assam. He said 36 people are still admitted in the hospital.
The UP government has announced a Helpline Toll free number 1920 for any inquiry of the pilgrims.
The DIG said that today no VIP protocol was entertained and this norm will continue during the next Amrit Snan during Basant Panchami on February 3.
“Situation is normal now and the Amrit Snan has also been completed with religious belief,” he added.
The DIG said the pilgrims broke the barricades on the Akhara Marg which led to the stampede.
Today , over 7 crore devotees had a dip in the Sangam till 6 PM.
President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders condoled the loss of lives in the incident.
In the last Mahakumbh in 2013 , over 36 pilgrims had died in a stampede at the Prayagraj Railway station on Mauni Amavasya.
Leaders cutting across party lines condoled the loss of lives and appealed to the state government to provide adequate treatment to the injured.
The situation in and around Prayagraj is very tense as people have been stopped at different places who were on their way to Sangam. Security personnel were facing problems in evacuating the ghats to allow fresh devotees to take bath.
Several bridges on Ganga and Yamuna along with pontoon bridges were overloaded with people as around 5 crore people are still on their way to reach Sangam, sources here said.
IG Prem Kumar and Mela SSP Rajesh Dwivedi reached the spot and sent millions of bathers present at the Sangam site through different routes to safer places.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the management of the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj be handed over to the Indian Army, following a tragic late-night stampede-like incident.
“In order to re-instill faith in the system among the saint community and devotees who have come to the Maha Kumbh, it is necessary that the administration and management of the Maha Kumbh should be immediately handed over to the Army instead of the UP government and administration,” Yadav said.
Expressing deep grief over the loss of lives, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi blamed the state government’s mismanagement and the special focus on VIP movement instead of devotees for the tragic incident. He said, “The news of the death of several people and many injured because of the stampede at Mahakumbh in Prayagraj is extremely sad.”
Attacking the BJP-led government in UP, he wrote on X, “Mismanagement and the administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said the incident is very sad and worrying.