Prayagraj, Jan 29 :
At least 30 people were killed and 60 others injured in a stampede that broke out at the Maha Kumbh Mela in the early hours of Wednesday, officials said.
The pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh broke out as crores of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days.
DIG Vaibhav Krishna told a press conference here in the evening the stampede has left 30 dead and 60 others injured.
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.
Amrit snan, the traditional bathing ritual of akharas, was deferred after the stampede but resumed in the afternoon. Till 5 pm, nearly six crore devotees took a dip.
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.
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.
Chief Minister Yogi 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.
Officer on Special Duty for the Mela Akanksha Rana earlier said, “Some people have got injured and have been hospitalised after a barrier broke at the Sangam. We are yet to have the exact count of those injured”.
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.”
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.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while claiming that “at least 15 pilgrims” succumbed in the stampede, offered her condolences to the bereaved families.
Karnataka Congress MLA Asif Sait said he has received information that four people from Belagavi city have lost their lives in the stampede.
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.
