Mahakumbh News: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath appealed people to ‘not pay attention to rumours’ amid reports that several people have been killed.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath appealed people to “not pay attention to rumours” amid reports that several people have been killed in “stampede-like situation” during Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Both CM and the saints urged devotees to observe self-discipline and take holy bath only at the nearest ghat.
“Avoid going to Sangam Nose, follow the instructions of the administration,” Yogi Adityanath added. Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, meanwhile, had put their ‘amrit snan’ (royal bath) on hold in view of the situation.
“Due to the excessive crowd, we had put our snan on hold. Now that the crowd has reduced and the ghats meant for our snan are being vacated, so it seems that all Akharas will be able to do snan today… Our processions will be carried out as usual according to our tradition but will be at a smaller scale,” Ravindra Puri, president of the akhara, said.
Yoga guru Ramdev took a symbolic holy dip in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar. “We have taken a holy dip today keeping the injured persons in our prayers and wishing for their early recovery. We did a symbolic ‘snan’ today and prayed for the well-being of the people,” he said.
According to Akanksha Rana, special executive officer for the festival, a stampede-like situation arose at the Maha Kumbh Mela after a barrier broke. Authorities have not confirmed the number of casualties. Rana said early Wednesday that “several people” had been injured and taken to hospital but that officials were still assessing the extent of the damage.