The rescue operation ongoing after a stampede occurred in ‘Mauni Amavasya’ during the ongoing festival ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’, in Prayagraj, Wednesday, January 29, 2025. | Photo credit: PTI
Multiple victims were feared after a “stampede” situation exploded in the Sangam on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) in the middle of the current Maha Kumbh, since a large number of pilgrims appeared for a sacred bathroom in Mauni Amavasya, They said officials.
The special service officer for the Mela Akanksha Rana said: “Some people were injured and have been hospitalized after a barrier was broken in the Sangam. We still do not have the exact count of the injured.”
The Amrit Snan in Mauni Amavasya is the most significant ritual of Maha Kumbh and is expected to attract around 10 pilgrims of millions of rupees.
This year, there is a rare heavenly alignment called ‘Triveni Yog’ after 144 years, amplifying the spiritual importance of the day.
The injured were taken to the Central Hospital established in the Mela area. The relatives of many injured also came there as some high -level administrative and police officers.
“We came in a lot of 60 people in two buses, we were nine people in the group. Suddenly he had pushed the crowd, and we were trapped. Many of us fall and the crowd was without control, “said Sarojini of Karnataka, crying outside the hospital.
“There was no possibility to escape, he had pushed from all sides,” the woman told PTI’s videos.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, in the middle of a sea of crowds that converged in the Sangam and all the other Ghats created along a range of 12 km of river shore for the Maha Kumbh.
The Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, is considered the most sacred by the Hindus, with the belief that giving a dip during Maha Kumbh and particularly on special dates of bathroom such as Mauni Amavasya, the sins of the people and It provides’ ‘Mksha’ or salvation.
On Tuesday, in view of the early influx of pilgrims, Mela’s authorities issued an advice that urges devotees to follow the management guidelines of the multitude for safety and convenience.
Pilgrims have been asked to use lanes designated to reach Sangam Ghat, remain in their lanes while approaching the bathing area and avoid persisting Ghats after the Holy Dip. They have been urged to immediately proceed to parking areas or their destinations to guarantee a movement without problems.
Visitors were remembered to remain patients in barricades and ponto bridges, avoiding hurrying or pushing to prevent accidents. The administration emphasized that “all Ghats in Sangam are equally sacred,” encouraging devotees to “bathe in the first ghat they reach to avoid overcrowding.”
Published – January 29, 2025 05:18 am isth
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