Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the India Today Conclave on Saturday. During this time, at the Mahakumbh Mela, he presented his side on the stampede and delay in confirming the dead on the occasion of Mouni Amavasya bath. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath described it as an unfortunate incident and said that after the stampede, the government’s attention was on the safety of 8 crore devotees who were about to reach Prayagraj to take a dip that day.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Yogi Adityanath said that the stampede took place between 1:15 am to 1:30 pm on the midnight of 28 and 29 January. He said, ‘This incident happened when four crore devotees were already present in the Kumbh region. The holy amrit bath was about to start at 4 am, so the officials were preparing to handle the huge crowd of devotees. We had speculated that about 8 crore devotees will participate in the Mouni Amavasya bath. Apart from this, about 2 crore devotees had to stop in Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Chitrakoot.
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Our priority was to reach the injured to the hospital: CM Yogi
Yogi Adityanath said, ‘We had made arrangements for devotees at all these places, and arrangements for the movement of devotees. We organized Bhandare and 2 crore people were stopped here in the next 24 hours. Eight crore people were in Prayagraj or were about to reach Prayagraj. It was our priority as a responsible government that if an unfortunate incident took place, we have to take the injured to the hospital via Green Corridor. The injured (in stampede) were rushed to the hospital within 15 minutes. 65 seriously injured people were rushed to the hospital and unfortunately 30 people died.
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Yogi Adityanath said, ‘Apart from expressing grief over the incident, our priority was the protection of 8 crore devotees. After the stampede, the officials were asked to request the akhadas to change their bath time. We asked them to let the devotees take bath first and after 12 o’clock we will arrange a bath for them. He expressed gratitude to the akharas and saints, who paid attention to the request and postponed the ritual bath for further.
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Yogi Adityanath said, ‘By then the huge crowd had reduced slightly from the Sangam region. After this, the government focused on bus stands and railway stations, where there was heavy pressure. Police and fair officials were asked to share information about the stampede with the media and the government. After the bathing on Mauni Amavasya, the police reached the media center and held a press conference on the stampede. Yogi Adityanath said in India Today Conclave, ‘I believe that the first point of crisis management is to protect people and to ensure treatment of the injured. The administration did both these work responsibly.