Why stampede in Mahakumbh, 800 killed in chaos in 1954 with one such rumor on Mauni Amavasya

New Delhi: It must have been around 3 February 1954 around 8 am. When there was a crowd of millions for Mauni Amavasya at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. Suddenly some rumors arose, causing a stampede on the bathing festival. About 800 devotees died in the orgy of death for 45 minutes. It is believed that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country, also came to that Kumbh.
This time too, a stampede took place on the day of Mauni Amavasya in Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, in which there are reports of some people being seriously injured. Well, the situation in Mahakumbh is under control. It is known that 800 devotees died during the first Kumbh after the independence of the country, in which 800 devotees died. Will know what are the reasons for these accidents.

Why a stampede in Mahakumbh this time, know the reason

This incident of stampede in this time Mahakumbh took place at around 1 pm when the crowd suddenly started increasing at the confluence for the bath of Mauni Amavasya. People insisted on bathing at the main confluence. Then the barricading in the path of the confluence broke due to the pressure of the increasing crowd. This suddenly caused a stampede in the fair. According to media reports, when people were going for bathing, people were sleeping near barricading. Due to this, some people fell into the feet of the lying people. As soon as he/she fell, a crowd of people coming from behind kept falling on top of one.

When there was a rumor of sudden water in the Ganges

It is said that similarly, on the night of 2 and 3 February in 1054, a lot of water increased in the Ganges. Water started reaching the ashram of saints and saints along the confluence. People got nervous due to this incident. This caused a stampede in chaos. Kumbh was also internationalized by Nehru. Many articles of Nehru were also printed in the country and abroad on this occasion. About 50 lakh devotees took part in the fair that year. It was also the first Kumbh Mela after India’s independence. Due to this too, a large number of people reached Allahabad at that time.

Jawaharlal Nehru was also involved in Kumbh, but when?

The then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also attended the Kumbh of 1954. Nehru ji had also come a day before Amavasya and he/she also took a bath in the Sangam, but on the same day he/she returned from the preparations and returned. After the accident, Nehru formed an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of Justice Kamalakant Verma. After the accident, Nehru appealed to the leaders and the most special people not to go to Kumbh on bathing festivals. Since that incident, there was no stampede in Kumbh for a long time.

Rumor of PM’s helicopter arrival during royal bath

83 -year -old Pandit Ramnaresh Upadhyay, a resident of Daraganj, situated on the banks of the Ganges in Prayagraj, says that I saw the incident on the bathing festival of Mouni Amavasya in 1954 with my eyes. Actually, it happened that during the royal bath of the Akharas that day, the rumor spread that Prime Minister Nehru’s helicopter was coming to the fair area. By believing this rumor, some people started running to see him/her. Due to this chaos, some Naga Sadhu got angry and attacked them with tongs. In such a situation there was more chaos.

This orgy of death was going on for 45 minutes

This orgy of stampede, that is, continued for about 45 minutes. Shortly after this, the crowd itself was controlled. According to different sources, tragedy figures were different. The Guardian reported that more than 800 people were killed and more than 100 injured. At the same time, The Time said that at least 350 people were crushed and drowned, 200 were reported missing and more than 2,000 were injured. According to the book ‘Law and Order in India’, more than 500 people were killed.

This was the important reason, know one thing

The occasion of the 1954 Kumbh Mela was used by politicians to join the public after India’s independence. This was the first Kumbh Mela after independence. Many prominent politicians visited the city during the event. The failures of mob control measures and the presence of large number of politicians were the main reason for the execution of this stampede.

Did Ganga change the path or anything else

Furthermore, a major factor contributing to that incident of stampede was that the Ganges River changed its route. She came close to the embankment and the city, which reduced the space available for the temporary Kumbh Township and the movement of people was banned. In addition, the thing that gave birth to the tragedy was the growth of the crowd. This crowd broke every obstacle and hit the sadhus and Nagas of many akharas. After this there was a stampede. The one who started a chance, started running away. People started crushing and corpses were laid everywhere.

These novels mention the stampede of Kumbh of 1954

Famous writer Vikram Seth’s 1993 novel ‘A Sutable Boy’ mentions a stampede at the 1954 Kumbh Mela. In the novel, this event is called ‘Bridge Mela’ instead of Kumbh Mela. It is also depicted as a bridge fair in the 2020 television serial. The novel written by Calcut (Samaresh Basu) and Amrita Kumbher Sandhana exposed the stampede tragedy with the reaction of pilgrims. Later a film was also made on it.

Open path for fair management from the Commission of Inquiry

The Judicial Inquiry Commission formed after the worst stampede accident in the history of India was led by Justice Kamla Kant Verma and its recommendations became the basis of better management of future events in the coming decades. This tragedy fair is considered as a serious warning for planners and district administrators. Earlier, there was a stampede during the 1840 and 1906 wishes, which caused a lot of loss of life and property.

There was a stampede in these Aquarius too, know the story

The first stampede in Kumbh was in 1954. On 3 February 1954, there was a stampede at the Kumbh Mela of Prayagraj on the day of Mauni Amavasya. 800 people died in this accident. The same, more than 50 devotees were killed during a stampede during the 1992 Simhastha Kumbh Mela of Ujjain. There was a stampede on August 27 during the 2003 Kumbh Mela in Nashik, Maharashtra. 39 people were killed in this stampede. There was a stampede on April 14 during the Kumbh Mela in 2010 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. 7 people died in this. Similarly, Kumbh Mela was also organized in Prayagraj in 2013. The incident took place on Mouni Amavasya during the Amrit bath on 10 February. 36 people died in a stampede at Prayagraj railway station.