At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh early Wednesday as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
Several hours after the incident took place between 1-2 am, Maha Kumbh Deputy Inspector General Vaibhav Krishna gave the details of the casualties at a press conference in Mahakumbh Nagar in the evening.
"The incident took place due to the pressure of the crowd. The crowd broke barricades and jumped to the other side, crushing those waiting there. Over 90 injured were rushed to the hospital, of whom 30 died," he said.
The officer said 25 of the deceased have been identified. Four of them are from Karnataka and one each from Assam and Gujarat.
Among those injured, 36 are undergoing treatment at the hospital and the rest have been sent with their families.
Over seven and half crore devotees took a dip Wednesday, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the devotees who lost their family members in the stampede, describing the tragedy as 'extremely saddening'.
Later in the night, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a three-member judicial commission, comprising Justice Harsh Kumar, former DG V K Gupta and retd IAS V K Singh to look into the reasons behind the stampede.
He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.
"It is important to get to the bottom of the whole episode on how such a tragedy occurred," a visibly-emotional Adityanath said, adding that the chief secretary and DGP would visit the Maha Kumbh on Thursday for an in-depth probe into the tragic incident.
DIG Krishna said barricades have been placed in the mela and akhara areas for lane management but they gave way under the pressure of the jostling.
As the barricades broke, people fell on those sitting and waiting for taking the holy dip during the 'brahm muhurt' (early morning time considered auspicious to perform certain activities), he said.
Many ordinary people, including women and children, fell down and were crushed.
The officer said the government has issued strict directives there will be no VIP protocol in the mela now onwards.
According to eyewitness accounts, one of the reasons for the tragedy was the sudden surge of pilgrims at the Sangam -- all driven by an obvious desire to take the holy dip at 3 am, the start of the auspicious hour.
After the stampede, Amrit snan, the traditional bathing ritual of akharas, was deferred but it resumed in the afternoon. The bathing for devotees, however, continued at the tightly-packed Sangam and other ghats along the Ganges which were less crowded.
Around 2 am, the blaring sirens of ambulances and police vehicles rushing to the Sangam pierced through the continuous chants of mantras and shlokas echoing from loudspeakers across the Kumbh Mela area.
Those injured were taken to the central hospital set up in the Mela area.
Relatives of many injured also reached there, as did some senior administrative and police officials.
Security personnel and rescue workers were seen carrying many of the injured on stretchers.
People's belongings, including blankets and bags, lay strewn around.
Sarojini, a devotee from Karnataka said, "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," the woman told PTI Videos.
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 up 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."
In a post on X around noon, Modi said the local administration in Prayagraj is giving all possible help to the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
Later addressing a poll rally in Delhi, he said, "We lost some good souls in the tragic incident at Kumbh and some people have also got hurt. I convey my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and pray for the early recovery of those injured."
"I am in constant touch with the Uttar Pradesh government. Due to 'Mauni Amavasya', crores of devotees have reached there. For sometime, the process of bathing had been halted, but now for several hours, the yatris are taking a bath. I once again convey my condolences to the families," Modi said.
Adityanath said the incident took place between 1 am and 2 am when some devotees climbed over the barricades at Akhara marg.
"Between 1 am to 2 am, at the akhara route where arrangements were made for the Amrit Snan of the akharas, some devotees crossed over the barricades and were critically injured. They were immediately rushed to hospital where treatment was promptly ensured," he said after a high-level meeting in Lucknow.
On the Amrit Snan by akharas deferred till afternoon, Adityanath said a consensus was reached with the akharas that they would take the holy dip only after the crowd pressure has decreased at the ghats.
"Our first priority is to ensure safety of devotees," he said, adding "the situation in Prayagraj is under control but the crowd pressure is still there."
The chief minister said around 9-10 crore people are in Prayagraj and appealed to devotees to take a dip in the Ganga at their nearest ghats and not try to reach the Sangam Nose to avoid overcrowding.
Around 2.30 pm, the procession of akharas resumed as it made its way on foot towards the Sangam for the snan. Helicopter showered flower petals on seers as they headed towards the Sangam.
"All saints, seers and nagas took holy dip on the occasion. I congratulate Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) and the administration for making such arrangements," said Mahant Ravindra Puri, head of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, who led the procession.
On the stampede, he said, "It's a conspiracy by the opposition. This must be investigated."
The opposition hit out at the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over the stampede, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that mismanagement and administration's special focus on VIP movement were responsible for the tragic incident.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the management of the world's largest religious event should be immediately handed over to the army.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray sought to know who was responsible for the stampede and claimed that closure of certain parts of the riverbank for visits by ministers leads to such situations.
Several leaders including Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Union minister Anupriya Patel, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai expressed concern at the tragedy.
According to tradition, Akharas belonging to the three sects 'Sanyasi, Bairagi, and Udaseen' take the holy dip in a set sequence following a majestic, awe-inspiring procession to the Sangam Ghat.
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.
On Tuesday, in view of the anticipated influx of pilgrims, the Mela authorities issued an advisory urging devotees to follow crowd-management guidelines for safety and convenience.
Pilgrims were asked to use designated lanes to reach Sangam Ghat, stay in their lanes while approaching the bathing area, and avoid lingering at ghats after the holy dip.
They were urged to proceed promptly to parking areas or their destinations to ensure smooth movement.
Visitors were reminded to remain patient at barricades and pontoon bridges, avoiding rushing or jostling to prevent accidents.
The administration emphasised that 'all ghats at Sangam are equally sacred', encouraging devotees to 'bathe at the first ghat they reach to prevent overcrowding'.
Being held after 12 years, the Maha Kumbh kicked off on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
There was a stampede during the 2013 Kumbh in which dozens of pilgrims were killed at the railway station and several left injured.
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