The Maha Kumbh area has been declared a no-vehicle zone and VVIP passes have been cancelled following a stampede that claimed the lives of 30 people on Wednesday. The incident, which also left 60 others injured, occurred in the Sangam area as millions of devotees gathered to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, marking the world’s largest religious congregation.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a late-night video conference with senior police officers and officials from several districts, including Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mirzapur, Basti, Jaunpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Ambedkarnagar, Pratapgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi, Rae Bareli, and Gorakhpur, to address the situation.
Adityanath announced a set of immediate measures to ensure the safety and smooth movement of devotees in the wake of the incident.
The guidelines issued by the Chief Minister include a ban on the entry of all types of vehicles into the Maha Kumbh area to ensure proper crowd management. VVIP passes have been cancelled, and no vehicles will be allowed entry via special passes.
Vehicles coming from districts neighbouring Prayagraj will be stopped at the district borders. A blanket ban on the entry of four-wheelers in the city will remain in place until February 4.
Adityanath also ordered a judicial probe into the stampede. He instructed officials to ensure that traffic in the Mela area remains smooth and that unnecessary stops be avoided. He emphasised that crowd pressure should not build up anywhere and that there should be no traffic jams.
Street vendors operating on the roads will be relocated to designated areas, ensuring that traffic is not disrupted. The Chief Minister further directed that devotees should not be unnecessarily halted during their visit.
Police officers have been tasked with increasing patrolling in the Mela area and ensuring that key routes, including Ayodhya-Prayagraj, Kanpur-Prayagraj, Fatehpur-Prayagraj, Lucknow-Pratapgarh-Prayagraj, and Varanasi-Prayagraj, remain free of blockages.
Officials are also focused on maintaining unobstructed return routes from Prayagraj. In addition, proper provisions for food and drinking water are to be made at all holding areas for devotees.
With lakhs of devotees expected to visit Varanasi, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, and Mirzapur in the coming days, the Chief Minister stressed the need for constant vigilance in these cities. Holding areas at the border points have been established to manage the flow of people based on the prevailing situation.
Adityanath has directed authorities to effectively use barricades to control crowd movement and ensure proper parking arrangements in the Mela area.
The situation at railway stations in Prayagraj, where a large number of devotees were gathering to return home after completing their holy dip, was also addressed. Adityanath instructed the Additional Director General of Police and the District Magistrate to ensure the safe departure of all devotees. Special trains and additional buses are being arranged to accommodate the rush.
Looking ahead, Adityanath noted that the Amrit Snan, a royal bath, will take place on February 3 for Basant Panchami. He has instructed the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police to conduct a review of the arrangements in the Mela area on Thursday to ensure everything is in place for the upcoming event.
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