Prayagraj Mahakumbh Stampede: Release list of victims, act against Kumbh commissioner for the panic: Opp to govt

Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh claimed that he had warned in advance about a possible stampede-like situation in the Maha Kumbh area and accused the administration of diverting all its attention towards serving “VIPs”.  The Congress MP, who met with the victims and their families at the Swaroop Rani Medical College in Prayagraj, also blamed “closing of pontoon bridges” and not responding in advance when people started resting at the ghats three days before the incident after walking long hours to reach the Triveni Sangam.

Elderly people travel on a cart to the Mela. (Reuters)

“I have seen four to five Kumbhs and based on my experience from the past, I had expressed my fears 10 days back. While my fears were then labelled as cribbing by an Opposition leader, we also did not press as no one wants to predict an untoward incident,” Singh said. “First of all, the PWD manual in maintaining distance between pontoon bridges was not followed and then they were all closed three days before the major snan (on Mauni Amavasya). If the idea was that people from the other side should not cross then why were they built? The incident could have been avoided had the pontoon bridges been open,” he added.

Also, state Congress chief Ajay Rai said they will submit a memorandum to the Governor about the possibility of larger number of deaths than shared by the authorities. “The government is hiding the (actual number of) deaths as well as the victims’ details, which is a bigger injustice to them,” he said.

The crowd at a railway station in Prayagraj on Thursday. (Photo by Vishal Srivastav)

15 tents gutted in Mela area, no loss of life

Prayagraj: At least 15 tents were gutted in a fire that erupted at the Juna Akhara camp’s “private tents outside the mela area”. Officials said the tents were unauthorised and no causality or major burn injuries were reported in the incident. “Around 1.40 pm on Thursday, we received information about a fire incident. When our vehicles reached the spot, about 10-15 tents had caught fire… This was outside the mela area. They were private tents of Juna Akhara for which they had not taken permission,” said Chief Fire Officer Pramod Sharma. He said there was no approach road to the spot. making it difficult for the firemen to reach there. “No loss of life or severe burn injuries were reported,” said the officer. ENS

Prayagraj DM: Vehicle entry restrictions lifted

Prayagraj: District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar on Thursday announced the removal of vehicle entry restrictions in the city. Addressing concerns over reports circulating on social media, Mandar said, “A viral message claims that vehicle entry in Prayagraj will remain restricted until February 4. This is completely baseless… As of today, January 30… police have been instructed to remove the barricades. There will be no entry restrictions on vehicles on Jan 31, Feb 1, and February 4.” ENS