Maha Kumbh Stampede: Congress Slams Centre,Yogi govt for half-baked arrangements and mismanagement

The main opposition party also said that the responsibility of this event should be handed over to a better administrator instead of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

 Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi expressed grief over the incident. "May God rest the departed souls in peace. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery," she said in a post on X.

She said that devotees visiting the Kumbh region were constantly complaining of the terrible disorder, but no attention was paid and administrative negligence was practiced. Priyanka Gandhi appealed to the government to take the injured to the hospital by air ambulance and arrange for their immediate treatment.
 

"The dead should be identified and their bodies sent to their relatives and immediate arrangements should be made keeping the convenience of the devotees at the forefront. Devotees are requested to take bath with patience and calm," she said. She said, "May Mother Ganga protect everyone."

 Congress media chief Pawan Kheda posted on X, "The kind of crowd and half-baked arrangements that led to such an accident were expected." 

He said, "There are still many great baths left. In such a situation, it is necessary to send additional security forces there and to replace Yogi Adityanath by giving the responsibility of managing the fair to some other better administrator and to stop the VVIP's noise. 

Akanksha Rana, officer on special duty for the fair, said, "A few people have been injured and admitted to hospital after the barricade at the junction collapsed. "We don't know the exact number of injured yet."

 The Amrit Snan Mahakumbh is the most important event on the Mouni Amavasya and it is expected that around ten crore people will take a dip in the Ganges. This year, a rare astronomical conjunction called 'Triveni Yoga' is taking place after 144 years, adding to the spiritual significance of this day.

 At around 2 am after midnight, the Kumbh Mela area erupted into a stampede-like situation amid constant chanting of mantras and shlokas from loudspeakers, followed by loud sirens of ambulances and police vehicles rushing towards the confluence.

 The injured were taken to the central hospital in the Mela area. Relatives of many of the injured also arrived there, along with some senior administrative and police officials.

 The Triveni Sangam – the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati – is considered the most sacred by Hindus. It is believed that taking a dip in it during the Mahakumbh and especially on special bathing dates like Mouni Amavasya washes away people's sins and gives them salvation.