The tragic stampede during the Mahakumbh turned the world’s largest religious gathering into a scene of chaos and tragedy. With over 35 dead and hundreds injured, criticism is mounting over mismanagement and alleged prioritising of VIPs over crowd control. A report by Mudit Mathur
The devastating stampede near Sangam during the ongoing Mahakumbh at Prayagraj killed more than 35 devotees and left hundreds of their accompanying relatives seriously injured who reached there for the “Amrit Snan” on “Mauni Amavasya”, one of the most auspicious bathing days of the six-week-long religious festival. Hundreds of pilgrims are still missing during the tragedy amid the unprecedented gathering of crowds.
The enthusiasm for the biggest festival of the globe soon turned into a mourning site within seconds in the early hours of January 29, 2025. The unexpected sudden surge in the crowds outnumbered the police force and barricades, resulting in the tragic stampede. Opposition parties have slammed the BJP-led government for “mismanagement” and prioritising VIP movement over crowd control.
Recounting hours of chaos, and panic, many eyewitnesses revealed, “We screamed, we cried, but nobody listened…people just walked over others. There was a messy surge in the crowd, with devotees falling over one another in a desperate rush to reach the holy waters at Sangam. There was a scuffle, a (wooden) barrier broke, and many people died and several were injured.” Some blamed the poor management of crowd control, while others pointed to route closures on pontoon bridges that led to a bottleneck, triggering panic at the world’s biggest religious congregation.
The police and administrative arrangements failed to manage the enormous influx of approximately 8-10 crore pilgrims efficiently despite declaring the vicinity around the festival to be a no-vehicle zone from January 27 to January 30 to facilitate pedestrian movement and ensure public safety. The government had stopped all VIP protocols on January 29, but surprisingly it accorded VIP treatment to film star-turned- politician, BJP MP Hema Malini on “Mauni Amavasya” at Sangam in breach of its much-publicised decision to accord equal access and experience to all the coming devotees during their visit.
The sudden stampede exposed vast claims of effective arrangements by the police administration which had made elaborate arrangements by installing 2,300 CCTV cameras across Prayagraj and the Mahakumbh site to help with population density analysis, crowd control, incident reporting, and cleanliness monitoring through control centres. In the Mela region, authorities have constructed 1.45 lakh restrooms and 99 temporary parking spaces covering 1,850 hectares. Ten digital ‘Khoya-Paya (Lost and Found) booths’ were also formed in the Mahakumbh area as part of efforts to ensure the safety of pilgrims visiting the event. During the crisis, all measures failed miserably.
