Prayagraj: A tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh event in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Wednesday claimed 30 lives at the Sangam. Hours later, a second stampede at Jhusi, 3 km away from the Sangam nose, resulted in seven more deaths, taking the total toll to 37.
According to Kalpvasi police station circle officer Rudra Kumar Singh, “Seven people were found dead at Jhusi due to excessive crowd pressure.” However, the Yogi Adityanath government initially remained silent on the second stampede, only addressing the first incident during a media briefing at 7 PM.
District Magistrate Mahakumbh Nagar Vijay Kiran Anand and Mela DIG Vaibhav Krishna confirmed that the first stampede occurred between 1 AM and 2 AM on Wednesday. Meanwhile, before the UP government acknowledged the full scale of the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and President Droupadi Murmu extended condolences to the victims’ families.
In response, the state government has taken safety measures, including scrapping VVIP passes and restricting vehicle entry. However, opposition parties have strongly criticized the administration over mismanagement, with the issue expected to be raised in Parliament as the session begins today.
