Celebration becomes tragedy in aftermath of Kumbh Mela stampede

At the Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious gathering, Ranjani Kumari's daughter cried out in the crowd, "Mom, save me!" Ms. Kumari recalled with grief, "I was also trapped in the crowd and couldn't save her; she was trampled to death." Her eldest daughter was among at least 30 people who tragically lost their lives in this "stampede" incident.

The six-week-long Kumbh Mela is the most significant milestone on the Hindu calendar, expected to draw over 400 million pilgrims. On Wednesday, millions of devotees gathered by the river for a sacred bathing ritual, when tragedy struck. According to one participant, as pilgrims rushed to participate in the bathing, those sleeping or sitting by the water were trampled in the pre-dawn darkness.

A pilgrim named Renu Devi stated, "The entire crowd was pressing down on me, moving forward while stepping on me. As the crowd surged, the elderly and women were crushed, and no one came forward to help." Festival Special Executive Officer Akanksha Rana told the Press Trust of India that a "stampede-like situation" occurred after a festival barrier broke. Following the incident, several Indian opposition leaders blamed the event on "mismanagement" and "VIP culture."

According to Indian officials, at least 30 people died in the stampede. Rescue teams moved through the scene, carrying away the deceased, while abandoned clothing, shoes, and other items lay scattered around. Police carried stretchers, covered with thick blankets, transporting the bodies of the victims. Senior police officer Vaibhav Krishna told reporters at an evening news conference, "Unfortunately, thirty devotees have died, and another ninety injured have been sent to hospitals."

After the stampede, families lined up to identify the deceased. Ms. Kumari wept inconsolably as she tried to claim the body of her 21-year-old daughter at the mortuary of Motilal Nehru Medical College in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. About 12 years ago, Ms. Kumari's husband died of a heart attack, and since then, she has raised her three daughters alone. She worked hard, hoping to give her eldest daughter a bright future. Ms. Kumari said, "I wanted my daughter to study... she was good at her studies... I put in a lot of effort for her... my daughter was great. Without her, I feel very helpless."

Witnesses described large crowds surging towards the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers for an early morning bath. Hindus believe that bathing in the holy site can wash away past sins and end the cycle of reincarnation. Officials had tried to divert the crowds away from the disaster site, directing them to bathe at other locations. A festival worker said, "We implore all devotees not to go to the main bathing site and to cooperate with the security personnel." But even as news of the stampede spread, crowds continued to break through cordons and surge toward the rivers.

"My family was scared, so we are leaving," said participant Sanjay Nishad. But for others, there was no escape from the crush of the crowd. Jagwanti Rajgar, 40, said she lost her mother and sister-in-law in the stampede. Holding her niece, she explained how her sister-in-law risked her life to put her child in a safe place. "During the stampede, the child's mother said, 'Even if I die, at least save my daughter,' and she shouted in the crowd, throwing her daughter into the crowd," she said. "People passed her to the barricade, and she was saved... while my mother and sister-in-law were trampled by the crowd."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the stampede "extremely saddening" and expressed his "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims. He said, "I hope all those injured recover soon." This is not the first time the festival has seen casualties. During the last Kumbh Mela in 2013, about 36 people died. The highest death toll in a global crowd-related disaster also occurred during the Kumbh Mela in 1954, when more than 400 people were trampled or drowned. Several opposition leaders criticized the federal and state governments, both of which are led by Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

They blamed the stampede on "mismanagement" and a "VIP culture," which they claim gives preferential treatment to politicians and celebrities. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote on social platform X, "The government should have made better arrangements to cater to the needs of the common devotees." Ahead of this year's Kumbh Mela, festival organizers likened its scale to a temporary nation, expecting up to 400 million pilgrims to visit before its final day on February 26.

This year, police installed hundreds of cameras at the festival site and along roads leading to the massive encampment, and used a fleet of drones to monitor the crowds. The surveillance network is connected to a command and control center designed to alert staff when crowds become too concentrated to the point of posing a safety threat. University student Ruchi Bharti said, "If you look at the advertisements, it seems like the government provided world-class facilities, but this stampede proves that it was all a lie."