Stampede During Kumbh Mela Festival Leaves 30 Dead in India
Dead bodies are lifted after the stampede at the Kumbh Mela festival, Jan. 29, 2025. X/@ItsKhan_Saba
January 29, 2025 Hour: 11:56 am
Primer Minister Modi had promised flawless organization for this colossal festival, which is held every twelve years.
On Wednesday, a stampede during the celebration of Kumbh Mela, the massive Hindu religious festival, left at least 30 people dead and 60 injured in northern India.
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The stampede took place between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. as millions of pilgrims headed to bathe at the confluence of several sacred rivers in the city of Prayagraj, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, a ritual meant to purify their sins.
“Due to the large crowd, the barricades at the entrances to the bathing areas collapsed, and the crowd trampled the devotees who were waiting to take a sacred bath,” said Uttar Pradesh Police Inspector Gen. Vaibhav Krishna, who confirmed that 25 bodies had been identified so far and that 36 injured individuals were receiving treatment at nearby hospitals.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences “to the devotees who have lost their loved ones,” without specifying the number of fatalities. Meanwhile, survivors of the incident recounted the moments of chaos they experienced to local media and in video recordings.
“Some people who pushed us were laughing while we begged them to be kind to the children,” a woman said in a statement captured on video by the Indian news agency PTI.
“There were many women and children who had stayed behind to bathe. Suddenly, a crowd arrived, and people started trampling each other. The police didn’ intervene and let it happen… Mothers, sisters, and children died. Why did they come?” another pilgrim told ABP news channel.
Over 57 million visitors attended Kumbh Mela this Wednesday on Mauni Amavasya, considered the most auspicious day. Over the six-week festival, which began on January 13 and will conclude on February 26, approximately 450 million visitors are expected, making it the largest human gathering on the planet. So far, nearly 200 million people have bathed in the sacred waters.
Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had promised flawless organization for this colossal festival, which is held every twelve years based on astronomical calculations.
With an investment of nearly US$1 billion to build a vast temporary city to accommodate the pilgrims, the regional government aimed to prevent incidents like the tragic stampede that occurred at Prayagraj train station in 2013, which claimed 36 lives.
Preparations included deploying tens of thousands of police officers and paramilitary forces, installing 2,700 AI-enabled security cameras to detect congestion, and setting up thousands of fences and barriers to control the flow of people toward the rivers. But these measures were not enough to prevent another deadly stampede, a recurring tragedy at this massive Hindu festival since India’s independence in 1947.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE