Yogi Adityanath on Mahakumbh stampede: ‘Didn’t allow news to be highlighted to avoid panic,’ says Uttar Pradesh CM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that his government acted swiftly to control the situation after a stampede at the Mahakumbh and did not allow the incident to be highlighted “as it could have caused panic” among crores of devotees present at the site that day.

Adityanath’s comments come a month after at least 30 people died in the stampede in Prayagraj. Adityanath also dismissed claims based on a Central Pollution Control Board report (CPCB) about high levels of faecal coliform in water samples taken at the Mahakumbh.

“The crowd is like water current in 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 present at the site and everyone wanted to take the holy bath at 4 am. Since Mauni Amawasya started at 7.30 pm on January 28, the crowd swelled and the incident happened between 1 am and 1.30 am,” Adityanath was quoted as saying in a report in The Indian Express.

At least 30 devotees were killed and 60 others injured at the Sangam ghat on Mauni Amavasya, a key bathing ritual of the Mahakumbh held in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj

Adityanath was addressing a gathering of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Indian Postal Service officials at an event on ‘Nation Building through the Successful Organisation of Mahakumbh’ on Monday. The chief minister spoke in detail for the first time about the January 29 stampede on Mauni Amawasya, ahead of the holy bath in the river in Prayagraj.

‘Managed the situation’

“There was a crowd of 4 crore people, including devotees, present in the Mahakumbh area while a similar number of people were present in Prayagraj city, moving to or from Mahakumbh. Over 2 lakh vehicles were parked in neighbouring districts…, waiting to be allowed to reach the Mahakumbh. 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 added.

The Mahakumbh Mela, which began in Prayagraj on January 13, came to an official close on February 26, Wednesday, aligning with the auspicious celebration of Maha Shivratri.

Spanning 45 days, the event drew more than 660 million people, making it the world’s largest human gathering, according to official estimates.

The chief minister also dismissed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report that reported alarming levels of 'faecal coliform' bacteria in the Ganga in Prayagraj during Mahakumbh.

“The claims were based on the CPCB report. It is possible that their samples were taken from points where animal faeces contaminated the water or at a point where the river water was already contaminated. Whenever we took samples from Sangam between January 11 and February 13, the measure of faecal coliform was up to 100 while the permissible limit is 25,000,” he said.