Akhilesh pans Yogi govt’s ‘utter failure’ as 250-km jam clogs roads to Kumbh

With hundreds of thousands of vehicles and Kumbh devotees struck in serpentine 250-km-long traffic jams in and around Prayagraj, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday (February 10) hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government calling it an 'utter failure'.

The former chief minister accused the administration of his successor Adiyanath Yogi of failing to provide even minimum facilities to the millions thronging Prayagraj for a holy dip during the ongoing Maha Kumbh.

"The hungry, thirsty, distressed and tired pilgrims stuck in traffic jams should be looked at with a humane perspective. Are common devotees not human beings?" he asked in one of several posts on X.

Also read: Maha Kumbh: 250-km long traffic jam on Prayagraj roads unleashes chaos

Unprecedented crowds

On Sunday too, Akhilesh had berated the UP government and asked it to make immediate emergency arrangements for the mass of stranded pilgrims.

He said the administration should have made the roads leading to Prayagraj toll free to ease the traffic.

PTI reported that with the constant steady stream of devotees to Prayagraj, severe traffic jams had paralysed the city.

Also read: Maha Kumbh: Chaos reigns; 'people are forced to walk 6-7 hours'

Railway station shut

Many pilgrims found it near impossible to reach the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers where a huge stampede on January 29 reportedly left up to 30 people dead.

In desperation, the authorities closed the Prayagraj Sangam railway station till Friday due to the excessive crowds.

Senior divisional commercial manager (Northern Railway) Kuldeep Tiwari told the media that the station was closed since passengers faced difficulty in getting out due to the massive crowds outside.

Also read: Kumbh stampede: A deadly cocktail of ‘VIP culture’ and mismanagement

Massive traffic jams

At one place, restive passengers stormed into the engine of a train to plead with the driver to take it ahead.

On Sunday, hundreds of vehicles were queued up on the Sangam road and moved at a snail's pace as the police, not wanting another stampede, barricaded the stretch for an orderly movement of pilgrims.

Police in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh's Maihar said it was "impossible to move towards Prayagraj as there is a traffic jam of 200-300 km".

Akhilesh flays Yogi

Akhilesh Yadav said there was a traffic jam at Nawabganj, 30 km before Prayagraj, a jam at Gauhania, 16 km before the Rewa road, and a jam of 12-15 km towards Varanasi.

"The Uttar Pradesh government has failed. It is visible only in false advertisements full of arrogance but is actually missing on the ground," Akhilesh Yadav added.

The Samajwadi Party supremo, in particular, blamed chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his ministers. “Those who should have been among the public are sitting at home," he said in a mocking note.

Also read: Maha Kumbh | UP govt prioritising VIP guests, closing roads meant for devotees: Akhilesh

According to Akhilesh Yadav, the choking traffic had led to a shortage of essential commodities and has inconvenienced devotees.

"Due to the traffic jam everywhere in Prayagraj, neither food grains, vegetables, spices are available nor medicines, petrol-diesel. Due to this, the condition of crores of hungry, thirsty, tired and exhausted devotees … is getting worse every hour. This is a very serious situation," he said in a post on X.

He also posted a video in which people shared their bitter experiences and pointed to the chaos.

Shortages of essentials

The Samajwadi Party leader further demanded that “a capable person should be given the command of governance” in the state. “Incompetent people can spread false propaganda, not true system.”

According to him, there has been no arrangement to take care of those who fainted on the roads.

"There is no arrangement for food and water for constables, class IV employees or sanitation workers standing day and night faithfully hungry and thirsty," he said.

Pilgrims share their woes

Meanwhile, many devotees questioned the UP administration about the mismanagement of the traffic situation.

Some pilgrims from Faridabad in Haryana said it took them 24 hours to reach Prayagraj. A family from Jaipur complained that they were stranded for hours to cross a four-kilometre stretch.

Ram Kripal from Rae Bareli said he was stuck in a jam for five hours on the Lucknow-Prayagraj highway.

44 crore people taken dip at Sangam

According to the officials, 46.19 lakh people took a dip at the Sangam till 8 am on Monday.

About 44 crore people have taken a dip in the Sangam since the start of the Maha Kumbh last month.