On the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, a stampede broke out in Prayagraj at the Maha Kumbh as thousands of pilgrims visit the Triveni Sangam. Several casualties are feared and many people have been injured. The officials said, “Multiple casualties were feared following a stampede broke out at the Sangam amid the ongoing Maha Kumbh, as a large number of pilgrims turned up for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya”. Officer on Special Duty for the Mela Akanksha Rana 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”.
Those injured were taken to the central hospital established in the Mela area. Relatives of many injured also reached there as did some senior administrative and police officials. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a statement appealed to the devotees to take a dip at their nearest ghat and not try to go towards Sangam Nose, follow the instructions of the administration and cooperate with them. He has also asked to not pay attention to any rumours.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to review the situation at the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj. The Prime Minister called for immediate support measures. Rescue operations are underway, and those injured in the chaos caused by the large crowd have been taken to Central Hospital.
Thousands of thousands devotees thronged Maha Kumbh Nagar to bathe in the Triveni Sangam on this auspicious occasion, at a particular time, causing a stampede to break out. Eyewitnesses have also revealed that the crowd at Maha Kumbh was poorly managed and there was no one to help during the stampede.
“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,” Sarojini from Karnataka said, weeping outside the hospital. “There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides,” the woman told PTI Videos. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, amid a sea of crowds converging at the Sangam and all other ghats created along a 12-km long range of river banks for the Maha Kumbh.
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