Day after Kumbh tragedy, many still missing

More than 36 hours have passed since the stampede at Maha Kumbh, but Jitendra Sahu has not caught a wink and has been frantically searching for his missing 70-year-old aunt Shakuntala Devi, who had arrived for the Mauni Amavasya dip from Gwalior with a group of 15 devotees.

“We have had no contact with my aunt since the incident. She has an identity card around her neck. Her phone is unreachable and she has not contacted anyone. We don’t know what to do,” he said in a choked voice. Several families like Jitendra’s continue their desperate search for their loved ones. While some of the missing persons have reunited with their families, many remain unaccounted for.

By Wednesday evening, hundreds of people were seen lying exhausted in and around the digital lost-and-found centre, waiting for news of their missing loved ones. Many were too weary to even approach officials for help.

The tragedy struck between 1 am and 2 am on Wednesday, when a huge crowd broke through barriers and trampled over devotees, who had been waiting overnight at the ghats to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.

Nearly 18 hours after the incident, the Mela administration, in a brief press conference, confirmed that 30 people had died and 60 were injured in the stampede. A judicial inquiry was also ordered.

A majority of those still unaccounted for are women. Phooli Nishad from Dheha Dera village in Hamirpur too has been missing since Mauni Amavasya. Her son Rajesh Nishad, who works in Ahmedabad, said, “My mother got separated from the family at the mela and we have had no contact with her since.”