NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday expressed grief over the stampede at the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh’s Mauni Amavasya ‘Amrit Snan’, which left at least 30 devotees dead and 60 injured.
CM Yogi announced financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each for the families of the deceased and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.
“The government has decided that a judicial inquiry of the incident will be done. For this, we have formed a three-member judicial commission headed by Justice Harsh Kumar, former DG VK Gupta, and retired IAS officer DK Singh,” Adityanath said.
He added that authorities had been closely monitoring the situation throughout the day. “We have been monitoring the entire incident from the chief minister’s control room, the Chief Secretary’s control room, and the DGP’s control room throughout the day. Meetings went on throughout the day, and there was continuous communication with the administration regarding the incidents. Since the morning, we have been receiving necessary guidelines from the Prime Minister, home minister, national president JP Nadda, railway minister, governor and others…”
Detailing the sequence of events, Adityanath got emotional and said that the tragedy occurred due to a massive rush of devotees that overwhelmed security measures. “Today is the Amrit Snan of Mauni Amavasya. Since 7 pm yesterday, devotees in large numbers were taking the holy dip while others were waiting for ‘Brahma Muhurta’. Meanwhile, an unfortunate incident happened on the Akhara Marg, in which more than 90 people were injured. This incident happened because of the massive crowd breaking the barricades and crossing the line… around 30 people have died, 36 injured are undergoing treatment in Prayagraj while the remaining injured have been taken away by their family members.”
Calling the incident “heart-wrenching,” CM Yogi extended his condolences to the bereaved families. “The incident is heart-wrenching. We express our deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones. We have been in constant touch with the administration since last night,” he said.
He assured that all necessary rescue and relief efforts were underway. “The Mela Authority, Police, Administration, NDRF, SDRF and all other arrangements that could be made have been deployed there.”
The judicial commission will submit its findings within a specified timeframe, Adityanath confirmed, while senior officials, including the Chief Secretary and DGP, will visit Prayagraj for further assessment.