On Wednesday morning, a stampede occurred in the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh, resulting in the deaths of 30 individuals and the injury of 60 others shortly before dawn. During Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar, millions of pilgrims competed for space to participate in a sacred dip, resulting in a stampede.
Updates regarding the Maha Kumbh stampede:
- The mahurat for Mauni Amavasya commenced at 7:35 pm on Tuesday, and devotees began to gather at the Sangam nostril in order to participate in the ‘Amrit snan’. By 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the Sangam nose had become a sea of humanity due to the population build-up.
- The Sangam nose was nearly full of pilgrims, with virtually no space for the exit of those who had taken the holy plunge, and everything was proceeding as planned until approximately 2 a.m. The Sangam nose was inundated with an unprecedented crowd, rendering the Mela administration unmanageable, during the religious fervor’s apex from 2 am to 2.30 am, when the stampede occurred. Ambulances were dispatched to transport the injured and deceased to the Central Hospital in Mahakumbh Nagar.
- The sudden influx of pilgrims at the Sangam, all anxious to take the holy dip at 3 a.m., the start of the auspicious hour, was one of the primary causes of the tragedy, as per eyewitness accounts.
- The Amrit snan, the traditional ablution ritual of akharas, was postponed following the stampede, but it was reinstituted in the afternoon. Devotees continued to bathe at the Sangam and other ghats along the Ganges, despite the fact that they were less congested.
- In the evening, Maha Kumbh DIG Vaibhav Krishna delivered the casualty details at a press conference several hours following the incident. “The crowd’s pressure was the cause of the incident.” The individuals who were awaiting were crushed by the throng as they jumped over barricades and crossed over to the other side. According to him, the hospital received more than 90 injured individuals, 30 of whom succumbed to their injuries.
- The officer verified that 25 of the deceased had been identified, with four from Karnataka and one each from Gujarat and Assam.
- DIG Krishna reported that barricades had been installed in the mela and akhara areas to regulate the flow of the crowds; however, they were compromised by the pressure of the tumultuous crowds. “As the barricades broke, people fell on those sitting and waiting to take the holy dip during the ‘brahm muhurt’ (the early morning time considered auspicious for certain activities),” he emphasized.
- According to the news agency PTI, the religious dip was participated in by more than 7.5 billion devotees on Wednesday, according to officials.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the stampede, describing the calamity as “extremely saddening.”
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has proclaimed the establishment of a three-member judicial commission to investigate the cause of the stampede. The commission will consist of Justice Harsh Kumar, former DG VK Gupta, and retired IAS VK Singh. Additionally, he proclaimed an ex gratia payment of ₹25 lakh for each of the families of the deceased.A visibly emotional Adityanath stated, “It is crucial to ascertain the cause of such a tragedy.” He also announced that the chief secretary and DGP would conduct an in-depth investigation into the incident at the Maha Kumbh on Thursday.
