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‘Was busy serving VIPs’: Religious leader blames Uttar Pradesh administration for Mahakumbh stampede
The stampede at Mahakumbh 2025 has reportedly claimed at least 15 lives as tens of thousands gathered for a holy dip. Religious leader Premanand Puri criticises the Uttar Pradesh administration for prioritising VIPs over crowd management.
Religious leader Premanand Puri on Wednesday blamed the local administration for the stampede at Mahakumbh 2025, saying that it was busy catering to the VIPs.
At least 15 devotees are feared dead and several others injured in the stampede.
“The administration was busy serving the VIPs. I saw that every VIP that attended the Mahakumbh, the administration was busy just catering to them, it was not bothered with any preparations for the Kumbh,” Mahamandleshwar Premanand Puri is heard saying in a video on different media channels.
Puri said the administration was not bothered with the preparations at the Maha Kumbh.
At least 15 people are feared dead and 70 others injured in a stampede that broke out at Sangam in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Wednesday morning.
Tens of thousands of devotees had turned up for a holy dip in the Ganga river on the occasion of ‘Mauni Amavasya’ during the ongoing Mahakumbh when the stampede broke out at around 2:30 am.
News agency AFP quoted a doctor saying that 15 people had died in the stampede so far.
Mint couldn't verify this number, however. Local reports suggested that at least 14 bodies have been brought to the Swaroop Rani Medical College. Around 70 people are feared injured, they said.
“On the Sangam routes, a stampede-like situation arose after some barriers broke. Some people have been injured. They are under treatment. It is not a serious situation,” Special Executive Officer Akanksha Rana told news agency ANI earlier.
The mega event, the Mahakumbh Mela at the Triveni Sangam, billed as the largest human gathering on Earth, began on January 13 in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. The Mahakumbh concludes on February 26.
A number of VIPs visit the event to take the holy dip in the river.
Puri also said that the tragedy could have been averted if the management of the Mahakumbh 2025 had been handed over to the Indian Army, as requested by all the akharas at the Kumbh Mela.
“All the akharas asked that the Kumbh should be handed over to the Indian army to be managed, there is no dearth of people who would serve selflessly in our country. If the Kumbh was handed over to the Indian army, I don’t think this big a tragedy would have happened. I am very, very sad,” he was quoted as saying in the video circulated on media.
What led to the stampede?
The administration was busy serving the VIPs... it was not bothered with any preparations for the Kumbh.
The administration found it difficult to manage the crowd that thronged the ghats and the Triveni Sangam on ‘Mauni Amavasya’, the day of the 'second Shahi snan' at the Mahakumbh Mela.
Expecting about 10 crore devotees to the Mahakumbh 2025 on Mauni Amavasya, the Uttar Pradesh government had already put in elaborate security and crowd-management systems in place at the mela site. An advisory was issued asking all devotees to treat the ghats as equal to the Sangam and avoid any rush due to misinformation/rumours.
Key Takeaways
- The importance of effective crowd management at large religious events.
- The potential benefits of military involvement in large-scale public events for safety.
- The need for better communication and information dissemination to prevent panic during mass gatherings.
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Business NewsNews‘Was busy serving VIPs’: Religious leader blames Uttar Pradesh administration for Mahakumbh stampede
First Published:29 Jan 2025, 10:48 AM IST
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