Maha Kumbh tragedy

A great tragedy has cast a shadow on the Maha Kumbh festival, the most magnificent spectacle India presents to the world every 12 years. Better crowd management could have prevented the stampede that took place in the Sangam area as crores of pilgrims jostled to take a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya in the wee hours of Wednesday. Ensuring a safe pilgrimage was an enormous challenge from the outset, and it is apparent that some lapses led to the pre-dawn melee. Anticipating a huge congregation, the mela authorities had issued an advisory on Tuesday, urging devotees to follow safety guidelines. However, the organisers and security personnel were caught off guard when some pilgrims climbed over the barricades at Akhara Marg.

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The Uttar Pradesh Government has tried to downplay the incident, probably with the intention of averting panic and avoiding negative publicity, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the devotees who lost their family members. A thorough probe is a must to find out how the situation spun out of control and who all were guilty of dereliction of duty. Creating a veil of secrecy will only fuel rumours and misinformation. The administration did appeal to devotees to bathe at the first ghat they reached so as to prevent overcrowding, while emphasising that all ghats at Sangam were equally sacred. However, this appeal should have been backed by proactive steps to make pilgrims move ahead in a disciplined way.

The Sangam stampede should prompt the mela organisers to review security arrangements and do course correction. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the government’s first priority is to ensure the safety of devotees. This should be the way forward during the remaining four weeks of the Maha Kumbh. The spectre of death should not be allowed to mar a festival that proudly showcases India’s spiritual grandeur.