'Sudden surge of devotees led to stampede': Eyewitnesses recount chaos at Maha Kumbh

PTI, MAHAKUMBH NAGAR, JAN 29, 2025 : Shoes, slippers, and clothes scattered at the site speak about the chaos that unfolded at the Sangam area of the MahaKumbh early Wednesday. Devotees recounted the horrific incident, saying people were pushing each other to take a dip at the auspicious time on Mauni Amavasya. Several people were killed and many injured in the stampede which took place at around 2 am as scores of pilgrims jostled for space to take the holy dip.

Going by eyewitness accounts, one of the reasons for the tragedy was the sudden surge of pilgrims at the Sangam who had gathered at the Maha Kumbh from across the country — all driven by an obvious desire to take the holy dip at 3 am, the start of the auspicious hour. “Many devotees had patiently waited for the auspicious hour. Several of them were sitting on the ground, and some were even lying down near the ghats. The bathing site was barricaded. Past midnight, a sudden surge of devotees led to barricades coming apart, and in the melee, many people who were sleeping or sitting on the ground were run over,” said Madhumita, a devotee from Assam who claimed to have witnessed the tragedy.

Badama Devi, an elderly woman from Bihar's Begusarai, broke down while recounting the tragedy, saying she had come to the Maha Kumbh to take the dip at the propitious moment. "We knew that this moment would not come again in our lifetime, and that is why we had travelled from so far and waited all this while to be able to take the bath in the Ganga at the auspicious moment,” Devi said. “Lagta hai Ganga Mai ka ihai manzoor rahan (it seems that mother Ganga willed it so).”

Ram Sumiran from Palamu, Jharkhand, reflected on the stampede. "We were aware that this sacred moment was coming after 144 years. None of us wanted to miss it. Scores of devotees were lying on the ground waiting for the auspicious hour to begin to take the dip. A sudden surge out of nowhere led to a stampede. Many were trampled as crowd pressure escalated after barricades collapsed,” he said. "Scattered shoes, slippers, and clothes at the site speak about the chaos that unfolded,” said Sumiran, who was still in a state of shock. He said that many people waited for long not just for the auspicious hour to take the dip but also to catch a glimpse of Naga sadhus.

Before the tragedy, a video of the Prayagraj Divisional Commissioner, Vijay Vishwas Pant, urging devotees to take precautions has now gone viral. In the video, Pant is seen advising the devotees against overcrowding the MahaKumbh bathing area and avoiding lying down in the passage leading to the ghats.

In the video, Pant could be heard saying: "Get up, get up... take a bath. Many people are expected, and there's a possibility of a stampede." He was seen requesting devotees to prioritize their safety, especially those who had arrived early, suggesting they should quickly vacate the area after the dip.

The Triveni Sangam — the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati — is considered the holiest by Hindus, with a belief that taking a dip in it during the Maha Kumbh and particularly on special bathing dates like Mauni Amavasya washes away people's sins and provides them 'moksha' or salvation.