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Alert admin averts tragedy, no loss of life in Mahakumbh fire
A major fire at Prayagraj's Mahakumbh Mela tent city was controlled, with no casualties reported, though over 100 tents were destroyed.
An alert administraton averted a tragedy after a major fire in Sector 19 of the sprawling 4000-hectare tent city in the Mahakumbh Mela area on the banks of the Sangam in Prayagraj on Sunday afternoon. There were no casualties reported, officials said.
Mahakumbh district magistrate Vijay Kiran Anand said, “The fire has been extinguished, and no casualty has been reported. Over 100 tents were gutted in the fire. The situation is under control.”
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath reached the site of the fire in Sector 19 of the Mela area and took stock of the situation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also enquired about the incident from Adityanath, who apprised him of the facts and said the fire was controlled in time by the efficient fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force team. The chief minister further informed the PM that there were no casualties or loss of life in the mishap and the situation was under control.
“Two to three gas cylinders exploded in the camp in Sector 19 of the Mela area causing a massive fire outbreak in the camp. The situation is under control. Cause of blast of cylinder is being investigated,” said chief fire officer (CFO) of the Mela Pramod Sharma.
Around 10 fire tender trucks and a dozen fire-fighting motorcycles brought the flames under control in a nearly two hour-long exercise.
According to Mahakumbh Nagar DM Vijay Kiran Anand, the fire broke out at 4.30pm in Sector 19 in the Gita Press camp, rapidly spreading to nearby tents on Tulsi Marg, including that of Nirmal Ashram Prayagraj and the Vivekanand Seva Samiti camp. The pilgrims present inside the camps first picked up the gas cylinders and started throwing them on Tulsi Marg. When a crowd gathered at the spot, the Naga Sadhus made efforts to get the affected area vacated.
Senior police and mela administration officials reached the spot and supervised the fire department staff in bringing the situation under control.
Initially, the fire broke out in the Gita Press camp owing to the blast of one gas cylinder, people aware of the matter said. However, after two more cylinders caught fire, the flames engulfed over100 adjacently located tents of the Prayagwal Sabha and other organisations, the people aware of the matter added.
A man, identified as Rajbir Singh suffered a fracture, in a leg during the commotion when he, along with others tried to douse the fire, before the arrival of fire tenders. He was brought to Central Hospital in the Mela area from where he was rushed to Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj city for further treatment.
This is the biggest incident in the Mela area since the 45-day fair started on January 13. The Mahakumbh is set to conclude on February 26.
