At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a tragic stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday, the world’s largest religious gathering.
Police reported that 60 others were rushed to hospitals following the incident in Prayagraj city, which occurred as millions of Hindu pilgrims gathered to take part in a sacred ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers.
Wednesday was an important day in the six-week Hindu festival, with authorities expecting up to 100 million devotees to participate in the ritual as Hindus believe that a dip in the holy waters can cleanse them of past sins and help end the cycle of reincarnation.
The stampede took place when pilgrims, eager to participate, tried to jump over barricades put up for a procession of holy men, causing a surge in the crowd, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
The main attraction of the festival is the procession of thousands of ash-smeared Hindu ascetics, which draws large crowds.
Photo: AFP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acknowledging the loss of lives, expressed his condolences and called the incident “extremely sad.” However, authorities delayed releasing casualty figures for over 16 hours.
Survivor testimonies, including one from a pilgrim named Sarojini, described how the crowd suddenly turned chaotic.
“Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled,” Sarojini said. “There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides.”
As authorities worked to control the situation, distressed families lined up outside a makeshift hospital, desperately seeking news of their missing loved ones where clothes, backpacks, and blankets were scattered around the stampede site.
Despite the tragedy, millions continued to crowd the 4,000-hectare pilgrimage site, even as police urged them over megaphones to avoid the confluence.
Uttar Pradesh’s top official Adityanath urged pilgrims to bathe at other riverbanks instead. At 8 am on Wednesday, 30 million pilgrims had already completed the holy bath.
Adityanath confirmed that the situation was under control, but warned that the crowd was still massive, with an estimated 90 million to 100 million people at the site.
The Maha Kumbh festival, which began on January 13 and is held every 12 years, is expected to see more than 400 million people attend in total.
Devotees stopped by policemen at a barricade following the crowd crush. Photo: Reuters
Nearly 150 million have already participated, including prominent politicians like Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, as well as international celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
In response to the large crowds, a sprawling tent city has been set up along the riverbanks to accommodate the millions of visitors, with roads, electricity, water, 3,000 kitchens, and 11 hospitals.
Authorities have also stationed 50,000 security personnel at the site and installed more than 2,500 cameras to monitor crowd movement.
However, opposition leaders criticized both the federal and state government, both led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, for what they called “mismanagement” and “VIP culture.”
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media, urging the government to improve arrangements for common pilgrims.
The 45-day Maha Kumbh festival is a significant cultural and religious event for India’s Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of the country’s population.
Hours after the crowd crush, devotees gather at the banks of the Sangam. Photo: AFP
It also serves as a prestige event for Modi’s government, which has promoted Hindu cultural symbols.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the festival has witnessed such a tragedy as in 2013, at least 40 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at a train station during the same event.
Deadly stampedes are a recurring issue at religious gatherings in India, where large crowds often converge in small, confined spaces.
In July, a similar incident occurred in Hathras town, where 116 people, mostly women and children, lost their lives in a stampede at a religious gathering.