The sacred Mahakumbh witnessed a tragic incident on Wednesday during the Mouni Amavasya holy dip, as a stampede claimed the lives of two elderly women from West Bengal. The victims were Basanti Poddar, a 65-year-old resident of Ashwini Nagar in Kolkata and Urmila Bhuniya from Godapialshal village in Salboni, Paschim Medinipur.

Basanti had travelled to the Kumbh Mela with her sister, son and daughter. On Tuesday night, as she attempted to take a dip in the holy waters, chaos erupted due to an uncontrolled rush of devotees. She fell in the commotion, and despite her son’s desperate attempts to lift her, she suffered fatal injuries. Her body has been sent for post-mortem, and efforts are being made to bring it back to Kolkata. Tapan Dasgupta, the local councillor, stated that the condition of her relatives remains critical, but officials are working to repatriate them as soon as possible.

Advertisement

Similarly, Urmila Bhuniya, who had travelled with her daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren, was caught in the same stampede. She was severely injured after being trampled in the crowd. Her family searched for her for hours before finally discovering her body at the morgue. The family has now started their journey back to Salboni with her remains. According to official reports, 30 people have died in the stampede, of which 25 have been identified. Authorities are still working to determine the identities of the remaining five victims. The incident has sparked political outrage, with CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty demanding the immediate arrest of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. He criticised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for not calling for Yogi’s arrest, implying an “understanding” between the BJP and TMC. Mr Chakraborty pointed out that in 2017, a similar tragedy occurred at the Gangasagar Mela in West Bengal, where six female pilgrims suffocated to death in a stampede. At the time, then-Sundarbans development minister Manturam Pakhira had taken responsibility for the mishap.

Swami Paramatmananda, the Mahamandaleshwar of Panchayeti Mahanirvani Akhada, also condemned the Uttar Pradesh administration for failing to manage the massive crowd despite promising “world-class crowd management.” He stated that saints had demanded foolproof security for the millions of devotees attending the event. He criticised the Yogi government for failing to control the situation, despite the deployment of state police, the Rapid Action Force (RAF), and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which operates under Union home minister Amit Shah’s ministry.

As questions mount over the handling of the stampede, many are now calling for the Indian Army to take over security arrangements at the Kumbh Mela to ensure the safety of the millions of pilgrims and saints who attend the world’s largest religious gathering.