Over a dozen injured in stampede in Kumbh Mela area

india

Updated: Feb 05, 2019 11:28 IST

Over a dozen pilgrims including women and children were injured in a stampede near Mahaveer crossing in Sector 17 of Kumbh Mela area on Monday.

However, mela administration officials denied any such incident.

The stampede occurred when a large number of devotees started moving towards Sangam even though a heavy crowd was already present near Erawat Dwar.

A devotee, Akhilesh Singh, said the security personnel deployed on the spot tried to stop the approaching devotees through rope barricading but failed. The Kumbh is one of the world’s largest pilgrimages.

“Some women and aged people got trapped in the crowd. Seeing no way to escape, the trapped people barged into the nearby camp of Udia Baba,” he said.

A ‘kalpwasi’, Vinay, said since there was no other exit in the camp, the crowd pulled down the tin barricading to escape from the other side.

Many pilgrims, including women and children, fell down and sustained injuries. A priest, Rajan Mishra, said most of the devotees caught in the stampede had come from Varanasi.

The injured were given primary treatment at the camps.

The Kumbh Mela which began on January 15 ends on March 4.