Mahakumbh 2025 Highlights: Petition filed in Supreme Court seeking implementation of safety guidelines at Maha Kumbh

UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar and DGP Prashant Kumar arrived at Prayagraj to review mela security arrangements, as per PTI.

Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Anshuman Mishra told PTI that the area would remain a no-vehicle zone until the crowd disperses completely.

"Vehicle passes will not be valid until all devotees have safely left for their destinations. No outside vehicles would be allowed to enter the city until the crowd exits the Mela area," he said.

However, senior officials may grant permission for vehicle entry based on the situation, he said.

PTI

A day after at least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh, the traditional bathing ritual continued in Prayagraj. Following the stampede, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a slew of guidelines on crowd management, traffic flow and prevention of build-up of devotees and coordination among departments.”Traffic must remain smooth within the Maha Kumbh Mela area. Unnecessary halts should be avoided, and crowd build-up must be prevented at all locations. There should be no traffic congestion on the roads,” Adityanath said.

Hours after the stampede-like situation, akharas arrived at Sangam for second 'Amrit Snan'. The news agency PTI said in a post on X that Jyotish Peethadheeshwar Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, Shringeri Peethadheeshwar Jagatguru Swami Vidushekar Bharati, and other seers have reached Sangam. In a video shared on X by PTI, the seers are seen walking amid heavy security as thousands of devotees gather around.

Condolences have been pouring in over the loss of lives after a stampede at Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. The exact number of those injured or those deceased is not yet known. Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote in a post on X in roughly translated Hindi, "I am deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place at Maha Kumbh. I express my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this accident. May God give them the strength to bear this sorrow. The administration is treating the injured in hospitals. I am in constant touch with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the local administration.

As devotees gathered for the 'Amrit Snan' at the Sangam, the scenes turned out to be of anguish and disarray. Recounting the incident, an eyewitness, Basdev Sharma said he had come from Sultanpur with his family, their hearts set on the holy bath. They were carrying their belongings with them, their money tucked away.

“There was suddenly too much crowd,” Basdev said, his voice trembling. “One of my family members was crushed under the stampede. We had taken our dip and were returning when we saw her lying unconscious.”

His relative suffered severe injuries to her chest and legs, trampled by the relentless wave of devotees. “People just walked over her,” he said. “No one even stopped.”

The videos posted by news agency PTI showed decrease in the influx of people at the Sangam and a police official said the stampede-like situation was accidental and it happened suddenly.

Kumbh Mela SSP Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI, "As you can see that ghat is completely empty now and we are waiting for the 'Amrit Snan' of Akharas to begin. Devotees are also taking holy dip with ease at various ghats, and we hope that 'Amrit Snan' will also be completed successfully. Whatever happened in the morning was an accident, it happened suddenly. We will look into the reasons... injured are being treated. There was no security lapse."

While several people are feared injured after a stampede-like situation at the Sangam, many are concerned over it. Following the incident, there has been a surge in search for "stampede" and "Mahakumbh news" online.

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Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj blamed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the stampede-like situation at the Sangam and demanded his resignation. In a video posted by news agency PTI on X, Bharadwaj said, "“This is a very serious issue. The Uttar Pradesh government invited the entire country and millions of people to the Maha Kumbh, making good arrangements. However, the state’s Chief Minister, who should have overseen the arrangements, left for political rallies in Delhi. This is a huge blunder. The BJP government has turned a religious event into a political one... Yogi Adityanath and the administration are fully responsible for this situation, and he should resign for this.”

With Opposition leaders hitting out at the BJP-led UP government and Centre over the stampede-like incident at the Sangam, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav made a stern remark again saying truth behind the claims of 'world-class system' has been exposed. The MP also demanded the Army to take over the administration and management of the Maha Kumbh mela.

In a post on X, Yadav said, "In order to re-instill faith in the system among the saint community and devotees who have come to the Maha Kumbh, it is necessary that the administration and management of the Maha Kumbh should be immediately handed over to the Army instead of the UP government and administration.

Now that the truth behind the claims of 'world-class system' has been exposed, those who were making these claims and spreading false propaganda should take moral responsibility for the people killed in this accident and resign from their posts."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the situation is under control and few devotees have suffered serious injuries. Adityanath said about eight to ten crore people were present for ‘Amrit Snan’ today morning at the spot and urged people to remain cautious.

Opposition leaders have been hitting out at UP government and Centre after a stampede-like situation broke out at Sangam in Prayagraj, with several feared injureed. AAP national spokesperson Anurag Dhanda told PTI, "It is a very sad news. I just want to say that when it was organised on such a large scale, Yogi ji invited crores of people there, amid all this, he should have been there, but he came to Delhi for political campaign. It is a very big event, it should have been taken seriously. People are saying that all the efforts went into security of VIPs, common people were left. In Dharma, everyone is equal. We are with the people affected by the stampede."

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Uttar Pradesh government to provide relief measures immediately. In a post on X, Kharge criticised Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government and Union Government and alleged them of mismanagement and condemned the incident. Kharge wrote on X, "During the Maha Kumbh, the news of stampede on the banks of Teerthraj Sangam in which several people lost their lives and many others got injured is extremely heart-rending.

Our deepest condolences to the families of the devotees and we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion than management and mismanagement are responsible for this. Despite spending thousands of crores of rupees, such arrangements are condemnable.

There are still many important royal baths left, so the central and state governments should wake up now and improve the arrangements so that such unpleasant incidents do not happen in future.

Arrangements for accommodation, food, first aid and movement of devotees should be expanded and VIP movement should be curbed. This is what our saints and sages also want.

Our Congress workers are requested to provide all possible help to the victims."

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the stampede-like situation at Sangam as extremely said and alleged that mismanagement has led to the incident. The SP MP also appealed UP government to provide relief to those injured. In a post on X, Yadav wrote, "The news of casualties of devotees in an accident caused by mismanagement in Maha Kumbh is extremely sad. Tributes!

We appeal to our government to:

- Seriously injured people should be taken to the nearest best hospitals with the help of air ambulance and immediate medical treatment should be provided.

- Arrangements should be made to identify the bodies of the deceased and hand them over to their relatives and send them to their place of residence.

- ⁠ Urgent efforts should be made to reunite those who have been separated.

- Surveillance should be increased by making good use of helicopters.

- Arrangements should be made to conduct the 'Amrit Snan' of Mauni Amavasya' amidst safe management parallel to relief work and keep the tradition ongoing.

We also appeal to the devotees to exercise restraint and patience in this difficult time and complete their pilgrimage peacefully. The government should learn a lesson from today's incident and make additional arrangements for the stay, accommodation, food, water and other facilities of the devotees.

Wishing speedy recovery to all those injured in the accident."

Authorities are scrambling to manage the crowd at Sangam and those injured have been hospitalised. As tension situation prevails at Prayagraj, Ramesh Kumar who was present at the Sangam during the stampede-like situation says, "I saw people falling over each other to reach the banks to take a dip. Soon people began falling over and the police got overwhelmed. For hours, we have seen ambulances come and go. I had to run to the Akhara area to save myself."

The akharas called off Amrit Snan after a stampede-like incident occurred at Sangam today morning and Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri told PTI, "We are seeing that the crowd is decreasing now, and we are holding discussions with the Mela administration. We would like to take the 'snan' if the crowd decreases. We had postponed 'snan' in the morning. We are also trying that the situation normalises and then we will talk to Mela administration and then take 'snan'."

Amid tense situation at Sangam, an ambulance reportedly caught fire and a video shared by news agency PTI on X showed fire extinguishers trying to douse the flame. Meanwhile, authorities scrambled to manage large crowd at Sangam and those injured have been hospitalised.

After a stampede-like situation broke out at Maha Kumbh, akharas have called off their Mauni Amavasya's Amrit Snan. Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad President Mahant Ravindra Puri told news agency PTI.

"You would have seen what happened this morning, and that's why we have decided to cancel the event. All our saints and seers were ready for the 'snan' when we were informed about the incident. That's why we have decided to call off our 'snan' on 'Mauni Amavasya'," Puri said.

The Amrit Snan, or the 'holy bath,' on Mauni Amavasya is considered the most important ritual at Maha Kumbh, with around 10 crore pilgrims expected to attend. According to Uttar Pradesh estimates, nearly 5 crore people arrived for the dip on Tuesday. As per Kumbh Mela traditions, akharas belonging to the three sects - Sanyasi, Bairagi, and Udaseen - take the holy dip in a set sequence after a procession to the Sangam Ghat. The seers and saints, including the ash-smeared Nagas, then immerse themselves in the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.