Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday addressed the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, which reportedly claimed 30 lives a month ago, stating that the state government acted swiftly to control the situation and "did not allow the incident to be highlighted" to prevent panic among the crores of devotees present at the site.
Speaking at Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, Adityanath defended the administration’s handling of the crisis. His remarks come amid criticism from Opposition parties, who accused the government of initially concealing the scale of the tragedy.
Describing the sheer scale of the event, the Chief Minister noted that nearly 4 crore devotees had gathered in the Maha Kumbh area, with a similar number of people present in Prayagraj city, moving to and from the site. "Over 2 lakh vehicles were parked in neighboring districts, waiting for clearance to reach the Mahakumbh," he said.
"We did not allow the news of the stampede to be highlighted as it could have caused panic among such a huge crowd. We managed the situation and circumstances," Adityanath asserted.
He explained the challenge of controlling the massive crowd, comparing it to the current of a river: "Whenever an attempt is made to stop the current, it will either force its way out or spread and cause damage. This happened that night when there was a huge gathering, and everyone wanted to take the holy bath at 4 am on January 29, after Mauni Amavasya had begun at 7:30 pm the previous evening."
The Chief Minister detailed the sequence of events, explaining that the rush occurred between 1 am and 1:30 am on January 29. He noted that apart from lakhs of devotees, sadhus from 13 Akharas were also scheduled to take a dip that morning.
"The bathing schedule of Akharas is always a challenge, as there used to be disputes over who would go first. The bath was to begin at 4 AM, and despite the stampede, all the Akharas were ready. But at 3 am, I requested them to postpone their bath because of the incident," he said.
Authorities swiftly evacuated the Sangam area by noon and resumed the holy bath by 2:30 pm, he added.