Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh: A chaotic scene unfolded at the Maha Kumbh during the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, as a stampede-like situation left around 30 women injured. The sudden throngs made the barricades fall down, and so the seers and saints from different Akharas also cancelled their prearranged Amrit Snan (holy dip).
How the Incident Unfolded
With crores of devotees gathering in Prayagraj for the most significant ritual of the Maha Kumbh, the city witnessed an overwhelming influx of pilgrims. The crowd swelled a day before the event, with reports estimating nearly five crore devotees arriving ahead of the second Amrit Snan. On Mauni Amavasya itself, the footfall was expected to reach a staggering 10 crore.
As the wave rose, tensions spiked after barricades broke up about a km from the Sangam (place of confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythological Saraswati streams). The pressure of the crowd caused some women to faint, and as they collapsed, panic ensued, leading to a near-stampede situation.
Authorities and volunteers responded swiftly, rushing the unconscious and injured women to the medical facility set up within the Maha Kumbh fairgrounds. Patients suffering severe injuries were shifted to Bailey Hospital and Swaroop Rani Medical College for continued treatment.
Seers Call Off Holy Dip Amid Safety Concerns
After the event, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Ravindra Puri, stated that the seers had taken a unanimous decision to withdraw from the holy immersion.
*”You must have seen what happened this morning. All of us were ready for the snan but only after the news of the accident. Considering this, Puri said, “We have decided to postpone the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya.
Reinforcing the decision, the General Secretary of the Akhada Parishad and Juna Akhara Patron, Mahant Hari Giri, urged devotees to have a holy dip in the Ganga wherever they were and not come to the congested Sangam.
Authorities Respond to Crowd Control Challenges
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after being briefed on the situation, promptly reached out to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, instructing him to take immediate relief measures. As a result, when authorities saw a copycat behavior in progress, they restricted use of pontoon bridges on the fairgrounds itself to further prevent groups from compacting, and restricted use of temporary bridges at other facilities that may have been subject to a similar shock.
Officials also increased security measures and deployed additional personnel to regulate the flow of devotees, ensuring the safety of pilgrims still arriving in large numbers.
Significance of Mauni Amavasya and the Amrit Snan
The Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya is considered the most sacred bathing ritual of the Maha Kumbh. This year, the occasion holds even greater spiritual importance due to the occurrence of Triveni Yog, a rare celestial alignment that takes place once every 144 years.
Following long-standing ancestral practices, Akharas of the three main orders (Sanyasi, Bairagi and Udaseen) bathe in a prescribed order sequence. Clad in saffron robes or covered in ash, the saints, including the revered Naga monks, process towards the Sangam in a grand spectacle before immersing themselves in the sacred waters.
Safety Concerns Overshadow Religious Festivities
Although the spectacle holds an extremely spiritual connotation, the recent unfortunate incident has led to questions on crowd control and safety protocols for the Maha Kumbh. Considering the size of the gathering, the authorities are dealing with tremendous logistical problems in guaranteeing an easy and above all safely experience for the pilgrims.
Although the religious intensity has not abated, the abandonment of the Amrit Snan by the seers no doubt highlights the importance of better strategies for managing the crowd. Millions now arrive in Prayagraj and the need is now upon us to stop further disasters and to keep the largest religious gathering in the world going, free from further upset.
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