‘Stampede, no fault of Arrangements’

A Mumbaikar businessman narrates the scene in Prayagraj

Mumbai: While the Uttar Pradesh government is facing flak over the deaths of 30 devotees in Maha Kumbh, a devotee told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that the arrangements were very well organised, and the stampede occurred mainly due to indiscipline of the devotees.

Mumbai-based businessman Pramod Khadse who managed to reach the most sought after destination Sangam nose on the afternoon of Thursday, January 31 recalled his experience. “The arrangements are excellent. Crores of people have visited this spot. The security is perfect. It is very very sad that so many people died.”

Khadse said, “The pilgrims had arrived the spot early morning, and all of them had fallen asleep in the restricted area near the barricades. Naturally, the security teams tried to vacate that area, and in the process the chaos happened because the pilgrims were sleeping and were very drowsy.”

He pointed out that although the arrangements are excellent, the crowd is so huge that traffic jam has made the process miserable. “It is difficult to blame anyone. The number of pilgrims is so much and I vouch for the fact that the arrangements are flawless but traffic jams are inevitable due to the large number of crowd. I found it nearly important to reach the Sangam nose.”

“My vehicle was stopped 14 km from the actual site. Later, I had to walk for 22 km. Everyone is abandoning their vehicles after a point and walking to Sangam nose. I finally reached and took the holy dip twice.”

The Sangam Nose at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the Saraswati rivers, attracts millions of devotees during the Kumbh Mela. Close to 15 crore devotees have visited the spot this year. The devotees believe that taking a dip in the Sangam washes away sins and frees people from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

At least 30 pilgrims were killed, dozens injured and many separated from their families as a humungous group of devotees tried to break through barriers to reach the nose at the Triveni Sangam.

Travel becomes expensive

After the mishap on Wednesday a few pilgrims pointed out that the travel has become a big challenge because the prices have shot up exponentially. Devotees planning a trip to Prayagraj in February are worried because airfare to Varanasi and Prayagraj has shot up as high as Rs 20-25,000, which otherwise usually is Rs 4-5,000.

Mumbai based Chartered accountant Manoj Tiwari who will has planned to travel to the Sangam Nose in February said, “I still want to go, especially with the historical significance and how rare this event is. It must feel like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The mishap is certainly concerning, but sometimes such incidents are unavoidable in big events. It’s tough to say who’s at fault without more info, but safety measures might need to be heightened in situations like this.”

He added, “Travel being expensive is an issue right now. It’s understandable with train services being unpredictable and flights being nearly impossible to get, the options are limited. Private vehicles seem like the only feasible way to go, though that can come with its own set of problems—like high costs and long travel time.”