Maha Kumbh: Chaos reigns; 'people are forced to walk 6-7 hours'
Besides crowd mismanagement, devotees slam Yogi-led government for poor infrastructure at the venue, and say a religious event has turned into political event
The unthinkable has happened, or as some say, it was a "tragedy just waiting to happen".
The exact details and the number of people dead and injured in the stampede at Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest spiritual gathering, are yet to come in, but those who are at the spot say the state government was not equipped at all to manage the surging crowd.
“The Yogi government was just unable to manage the sea of people,” said Atmanand Adabhut Maharaj, a religious leader from West Bengal, who is at the spot.
The Maharaj was talking to The Federal about the tragic stampede that unfolded early Wednesday (January 29), as crores of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the most auspicious day of Mauni Amavasya.
In his view, the government was ill-equipped to manage the massive crowds thronging the Sangam area.
Also read: LIVE | Kumbh management should be handed over to Army: Akhilesh on stampede
No adequate preparations
Many felt the Maha Kumbh stampede could have been averted. Devotees felt the UP government had been alerted that more than 10 crore pilgrims were expected to reach Prayagraj on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya and should have been better prepared.
Out of the six shahi snans or royal baths listed to take place in the 45-day Mahakumbh, the royal bath on Mauni Amavasya on January 29 is considered the most auspicious.
Sudhir Panwar, professor at Lucknow University, who is planning to visit Prayagraj, told The Federal, “There is a need for the state government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take responsibility for the stampede that has taken place. The first mistake by the administration was that it knew that 8-10 crore people would be present in Prayagraj for the shahi snan yet the crowd management failed miserably.”
According to visitors to the Maha Kumbh, infrastructure was sorely lacking. They were being forced to walk for 8-10 kilometres to reach the spot. In fact, the city of Prayagraj is in a complete state of lockdown as the state government has barricaded and closed most of the roads, leading to the Ganga.
Atmanand Adabhut Maharaj, who had taken an early morning dip in the Ganga river, said he had to walk six to seven hours from the Ganga Ghat to the railway station because all the roads were closed.
“Hundreds of thousands of people were walking either towards the Ganga or returning home after a holy dip in the Ganga. I had to carry my 16 kg baggage from the Ganga ghat all the way to the railway station,” he pointed out.
Many pilgrims, burdened with heavy luggage on their head and shoulders, found it difficult to navigate the congested pathways leading to the ghats. Also, large-sized iron dustbins along the route obstructed visibility, leading to multiple people tripping and losing their balance, further worsening the situation.
Along the route, pilgrims were spotted sleeping on platforms, bus stations, and pavements – anywhere they could find space.
The authorities said the stampede was caused by a barrier breaking at the Sangam. Devotees were seen climbing over fences to escape the surging crowd in desperation. Meanwhile, security forces formed human barricades to clear paths for ambulances trying to reach the injured.
Also watch | Kumbh Tragedy: 'Govt not equipped to handle such swarming crowd'
BJP government to blame
Pawar blamed the stampede and the chaos at the Maha Kumbh on the BJP government, who has tried to make a "spiritual" event into a political one.
"The Mahakumbh is a spiritual event but the state government first invited hundreds of people without crowd control measures. The chief minister may claim that the situation is under control, but two incidents took place in less than 10 days. The fire and stampede incidents only go to show that the state government is unable to manage the situation,” he added.
Lack of local support
It is not just the outsiders or visitors who were complaining about the arrangements at the Maha Kumbh. Prayagraj residents also felt that the state administration focussed more on the beautification of the Maha Kumbh area rather than taking help from the local population to manage the crowd.
Rakesh Kumar, a PhD student, told The Federal, “Normally, it is the duty of students of colleges and universities to manage the crowds coming into the city. These students work as volunteers during Mahakumbh because they know all the city roads. This time, however, students have not been involved and most of the routes are managed by policemen who have been roped in from outside.”
“There is a critical lack of local connect in the management of Maha Kumbh,” pointed out Kumar.
Prayagraj residents also pointed out that the locals are the best guides of the city.
“As the news circulated that there was a stampede at Sangam, among the first people to respond to the crisis were the locals, who immediately rushed out of their homes and dissuaded pilgrims from going towards the Sangam and instead requested them to take a dip in the Ganga at the nearest point,” Hariom Pandey, an astrologer and Prayagraj resident, told The Federal.
Also read: Maha Kumbh 2025: 10 cr pilgrims may attend Mauni Amavasya 'Amrit Snan'
Past lessons
The stampede that took place on Wednesday morning is not the first stampede to take place at the Kumbh. During the 2013 Kumbh in Prayagraj, a stampede took place at the Allahabad railway station in which more than 36 pilgrims lost their lives. The mishap happened when an overwhelming crowd of devotees tried to board the trains at the same time.
In 1954, more than 800 people died in the Kumbh because of a stampede.
Meanwhile, Vinod Bansal, national spokesperson of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) told The Federal, “The challenge for the administration is that people who are coming to Maha Kumbh are also going to Ayodhya to visit the Ram temple.”
He urged UP government and residents to allow visitors to first visit the Mahakumbh and Ayodhya temple so that crowd management procedures can be maintained.
