Kumbh stampede unfortunate: Yogi Adityanath

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the stampede that occurred during the Mauni Amavasya Snan at the Kumbh Mela was an unfortunate incident and in the aftermath, the government's focus was on the safety of 8 crore devotees that were epected to take part in the festivities on the fateful day.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Yogi Adityanath said the stampede took place between 1:15 am and 1:30 am on the intervening night of January 28 and 29. "The incident happened when four crore devotees were already present in the Kumbh area," he stated.

With the sacred Amrit Snan scheduled to begin at 4 am, the authorities were preparing for a massive influx of devotees. "We had estimated that around eight crore devotees would participate in the Mauni Amavasya Snan. Additionally, nearly two crore devotees had to be stopped at Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Chitrakoot," Adityanath revealed.

"We had made arrangements in all these places for the devotees, and made arrangements for devotees' commute. We organised bhandaras and for the next 24 hours, 2 crore people were stopped here. Eight crore were in Prayagraj or about to reach Prayagraj. As a responsible government, our priority was that if an unfortunate incident has happened, we have to take the injured to hospital through a green corridor. The injured (from the stampede) were taken to hospitals within 15 minutes," Yogi Adityanath said.