30 people died in the stampede during the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on Tuesday night in Maha Kumbh Mela.
maha kumbh mela Vaibhav Krishna (DIG Maha Kumbh Nagar Mela area) told reporters on Wednesday evening that 30 people have died in the stampede at Sangam Nose Ghat, out of which 25 have been identified.He said that 60 people have been injured, who are being treated in hospitals.
'Ambulances continue to leave'
Earlier, Bknewslive correspondent Vikas Pandey, who was present in the Maha Kumbh Mela area in Prayagraj, said that several hours have passed since the incident but the administration has not yet given any information about the seriousness of the incident.
He said, “Meanwhile, ambulances are still going from the Kumbh area. The administration has not released any figures of the injured and the dead. I am at the main entry gate of the fair, from where lakhs of people are still going to the Maha Kumbh Mela.”He said that 10 ambulances have gone from the main gate so far.
Vikas Pandey has said that many steps have been taken to control the crowd and right now people are being allowed to go to the fair in small groups only.
He said, “Whenever we are talking to people, they themselves are asking what exactly has happened. Their questions were what the police and administration were doing, how many people have died. However, no answer has come from the administration on this yet.”
Bknewslive correspondent Sumedha Pal, who was present in the Maha Kumbh Mela, said that the stampede took place at the Triveni Sangam Ghat. The entire Kumbh is spread over an area of 40 to 45 kilometers and there are 25 sectors here.Sumedha Pal said that devotees wish to take a dip at the Triveni Ghat only.
The Bknewslive correspondent met the family members of the victims at the Sector-2 hospital of the Maha Kumbh Mela area.
He spoke to an eyewitness named Guddu who said that after the stampede incident, his wife and sister got lost, after which he is searching for them and they are not being traced.
The eyewitness said that the stampede incident took place between 1 and 2 o’clock on Wednesday night because there was a lot of crowd and during this there was pushing and shoving and people got separated.
In a conversation with Sumedha Pal, a victim woman said that she had fallen in the stampede and three people were buried under her who died.
'Saw dead bodies being taken away'
Bknewslive correspondent Samira Hussain, who was present at the Maha Kumbh Mela, has said that when she covered the inauguration of the Maha Kumbh Mela two weeks ago, she had estimated that this time an unprecedented number of devotees would arrive for this religious festival.She has said that the crowd of people she saw on the banks on Wednesday is nothing compared to the inauguration day.
Sameera said that people are trying to reach the banks of Sangam from different directions. She said, “A large number of police forces are present here but at times they also got upset due to the crowd. I have seen people climbing the barricades or breaking them completely.”
While visiting the site after the stampede, Samira said that people’s belongings are lying here, including shoes, blankets, bags, clothes, scattered.
“Eyewitnesses have told that thousands of people were lying here and on the other side of it is the ghat of Ganga where people wanted to go. We have seen bodies being taken on stretchers from here but there is no official statement on this.”
“I saw a woman crying in front. Another person was passing by the stretcher and covering the body with a sheet. All this happened at the main bathing ghat.”
“It is also very extraordinary that immediately after the incident, the atmosphere here is different and once again a crowd of lakhs of people is present here. It is a matter of faith for the people which has brought them here and they are ready to take a bath in the holy river.”
When Bknewslive correspondent Vikas Pandey spoke to the devotees early on Wednesday, he found that there was a state of chaos there. Many devotees coming to the fair were worried about reaching the ghat and the administration was sending them to different places.
A devotee spoke to Vikas Pandey who told that he has been going since 8 am and the policemen are not giving him the correct address, they are being told the wrong route from the station till now.
A devotee named Ayesha Mishra told Bknewslive about the condition of Ganga Ghat on Wednesday morning. She said that ‘people are coming and going from the same route, during this people are falling due to the jostling. Police is either at the ghat or at the gate, there is no police anywhere in between.’
The condition of the lost and found center:
After the stampede, Bknewslive correspondent Vikas Pandey reached the Maha Kumbh Mela’s lost and found centre, where there was an atmosphere of chaos.
He said that many people are separated from their loved ones amid the stampede, announcements are not being made yet and small children who are separated from their relatives are here, elderly women are also present.
” People have told that they’ve seen people getting crushed in the rush. The lost and found centre, which is usually calm, is in a state of chaos today.”
According to government figures, about 2.8 crore people have taken a dip in the Sangam till 8 am on Wednesday for Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya.
According to government figures, 20 crore people have taken a dip in the Maha Kumbh Mela, which started on January 13.
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