Prayagraj, India: Pilgrims have died with many others being injured in a stampede that broke out near the Sangam at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh this morning. The Maha Kumbh is the largest human gathering on earth with 400 million people expected to attend this gigantic religious festival in India
While official numbers have not been released yet, it is feared that 15 people have lost their lives with several more being injured, on the ritual bathing in the morning of Mauni Amavasya today, considered the most significant day of the six-week festival. More than 30 devotees, mostly women, who turned up for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya, were also injured.
What We Know About Stampede at Maha Kumbh
The stampede unfolded as crores of devotees streamed into the tent city of Uttar Pradesh today, with barricades about a kilometre away from the Sangam – the point where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet – breaking around 1 am, leading some women to faint.
“Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled,” a devotee told reporters while narrating her harrowing experience. A woman, whose child suffered injuries in the chaos, claimed “There was nowhere to go”. The situation has now been brought under control by the administration and police officials, with authorities publicly encouraging pilgrims to not throng the Sangam and instead bathe in the Ganges at other ghats and locations.
The incident led to the Akharas (religious sects) calling off their traditional ‘Amrit Snan’ or holy dip for Mauni Amavasya. Millions of pilgrims, however, continued to take a dip at Sangam and other ghats in the Mela area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his sadness at the loss of life and has been in constant touch with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath to review the situation as well as to provide immediate support measures from the centre.
The Maha Kumbh is being held after 12 years and is particularly auspicious due to special alignment of the planets in space, which has happened after 144 years. The festival started on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
The Sangam is considered one of the holiest places in Hinduism, with a belief that taking a dip in it during the Maha Kumbh and particularly on special bathing dates like Mauni Amavasya washes away people’s sins and provides them ‘moksha’ or salvation from the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
With emergency services restoring order, the situation is under control at the sangam but extremely heavy footfall of pilgrims is being witnessed.
