Religious leader blames administration for Maha Kumbh stampede: ‘Was busy serving VIPs’

Religious leader Premanand Puri blames the administration for the deadly stampede at Maha Kumbh mela, stating it prioritised VIPs over safety preparations.

After the deadly stampede broke out on Wednesday at the Triveni Sangam at Maha Kumbh mela in Prayagraj, religious leader Premanand Puri has blamed the administration for the tragedy saying that it was busy catering to the VIPs.

Devotees after a stampede occurred at Triveni Sangam on 'Mauni Amavasya' at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on Wednesday. (PTI)

While talking to the media, in a video which is now in wide circulation on social media, Mahamandleshwar Premanand Puri is heard saying that the administration was not bothered with the preparations at the Maha Kumbh. “The administration was busy serving the VIPs. I saw that every VIP that attended the Maha Kumbh, the administration was busy just catering to them, it was not bothered with any preparations for the Kumbh,” he said.

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He also said that the tragedy would have been averted if the management of the Maha Kumbh was handed over to the Indian Army, a request made by all the akharas at the mela. “All the akharas asked that the Kumbh should be handed over to the Indian army to be managed, there is no dearth of people who would serve selflessly in our country. If the Kumbh was handed over to the Indian army, I don’t think this big a tragedy would have happened. I am very, very sad,” he said.

What happened at the Maha Kumbh

This comes after at least 15 people lost their lives during the stampede and many others are feared injured, people in knowledge of developments said on condition of anonymity. The stampede broke out during the early hours of Wednesday, January 29, as scores of people gathered at the Triveni Sangam to participate in the ‘shahi snan’, also called ‘amrit snan’ on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most sacred events of the Maha Kumbh mela.

Many devotees made their way back from the Sangam ghat without taking the holy dip after the stampede. Several akharas have also either postponed or called off their ‘snan’ in view of the tragedy.