Vikrant Shekhawat : Jan 29, 2025, 09:01 PM
Mahakumbh 2025: The stampede during the Mahakumbh fair held in Prayagraj took a very tragic turn, when 30 devotees lost their lives. This incident became a cause of deep concern not only for the local administration but for the entire Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed deep condolences over the accident and took responsibility for the incident and announced financial assistance for the victim families. Along with this, he has also ordered an investigation into the matter.Emotional statement of Chief Minister Yogi AdityanathChief Minister Yogi Adityanath became emotional while discussing the incident. He said that this accident is very sad and it is a deep lesson for all of us. He expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and announced assistance of Rs 25 lakh to give them life.CM Yogi said that the administration made every effort after the accident to normalize the situation as soon as possible. He said, "The roads of Prayagraj were closed due to heavy crowd, but the administration worked with full promptness and succeeded in opening the roads." He also informed that the Mela Authority requested the Akharas to postpone the bathing so that the situation could be controlled. After this, the bathing started in the afternoon and all the devotees took Amrit bath.Accident happened due to heavy crowdCM Yogi clarified the reasons for the accident and said that this accident happened mainly due to heavy crowd. He told that about 8 crore devotees had arrived to take Amrit bath on this day and the administration made every effort to arrange all the devotees properly. During this, devotees were stopped in the districts around Prayagraj and only after all the Akharas had bathed, others were allowed to enter the Mahakumbh area.Formation of judicial commissionThe Chief Minister constituted a three-member judicial commission for a fair and accurate investigation of the incident. This commission will be headed by retired Justice Harsh Kumar, while former DGP VK Gupta and retired IAS DK Singh have been made its members. CM Yogi also clarified that the matter will be investigated separately by the police, so that all aspects can be looked into.Relief of Rs 25 lakh each to the victim familiesAn ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh each has been announced for the families of each devotee who lost their lives in this accident. The Chief Minister said that this amount will be given immediately to the victim families, so that they can get financial support in this difficult time. Apart from this, UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar will reach the spot and evaluate the arrangements.ConclusionIt is natural to have a huge crowd of devotees in huge religious events like Maha Kumbh, but the administration needs to be more vigilant and sensitive to deal with such accidents. The action taken by CM Yogi Adityanath on this accident and the investigation ordered show that the state government gives priority to the safety of devotees. An important message from this incident is that better management and safety measures are needed in future to avoid such incidents.