30 people die in stampede at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, says official
This story was originally published at 20:07 IST on 29 January 2025
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NEW DELHI – At least 30 people lost their lives and nearly 60 sustained injuries in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said. The stampede occurred in the Sangam area after millions thronged the area to take a holy dip during the auspicious Mauni Amavasya.
"Before Brahma Muhurta between 0100 IST and 0200 IST a huge crowd gathered on Akhara Marg. Due to this, the barricades broke, and the crowd ran over the devotees waiting to take a holy dip during the Brahma Muhurta. About 90 people were taken to the hospital by ambulance, but unfortunately, 30 devotees died. Out of these 30, 25 have been identified, and the rest are yet to be identified," Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maha Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna said.
"At present, the situation is normal. Keeping in mind the convenience of the devotees, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has requested all the Mahamandaleshwar, Saints, and Akharas to take the holy dip with some delay... Amrit Snan of the Akharas has been concluded safely," he said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that 36 of the injured are undergoing treatment in Prayagraj.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders expressed grief over the loss of lives. "I am very sad that we have lost some pious souls in the accident that happened in Maha Kumbh. The way the holy bathing process started once again there with the patience and cooperation of the devotees is a matter of great satisfaction for me," Modi said on X, formerly Twitter.
Opposition parties blamed the government for the incident and alleged that half-baked arrangements resulted in the stampede. "Our deepest condolences to the families of the devotees and we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured. Half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion than management and mismanagement are responsible for this. Despite spending thousands of crores of rupees, such arrangements are condemnable," Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.
"There are still many important royal baths left, so the central and state governments should wake up now and improve the arrangements so that such unpleasant incidents do not happen in future," he said.
Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, commenced at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on Jan. 13 and is scheduled to conclude on Feb. 26. According to reports, Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya is the most important ritual of the religious festival and was expected to draw around 100 million devotees. End
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Reported by Kuldeep Singh
Edited by Saji George Titus
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