Fire in ‘kalpvasi’ tent at Maha Kumbh, no casualties

A fire broke out in a “kalpvasi” tent in Sector 19 at the Maha Kumbh on Sunday due to a leak in a gas cylinder, officials said.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze within 10 minutes and no casualties were reported.

Chief Fire Officer (Kumbh) Pramod Sharma said the fire was reported in a tent set up by Om Prakash Pandey Seva Sansthan and belonged to Rajendra Jaiswal, a resident of Karma, Prayagraj.

Upon receiving the alert, three fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the scene.

The fire was contained within 10 minutes, but the tent was completely gutted, he said.

There have been three major fires at the Maha Kumbh, besides multiple minor incidents.

Earlier on February 7, a fire broke out in the ISKCON camp in Sector 18 of Maha Kumbh Nagar and spread over to a dozen nearby camps. While no one was injured in the fire, around 20 tents were destroyed.

On January 19, a massive fire broke out in the Maha Kumbh Mela area’s Sector 19 due to a cylinder blast. While no casualties were reported, the blaze had left over a dozen camps gutted.

Earlier on January 25, two cars caught fire in Sector 2 of the Maha Kumbh fair area, but no casualties were reported. Short-circuit in one car led to the fire which then spread to the other vehicle parked next to it, according to officials.

The Maha Kumbh, which started on January 13, will continue until February 26.