Prayagraj, January 30 (UITV)- After the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced five major changes aimed at preventing such incidents in the future and ensuring the safety of devotees. The Maha Kumbh Mela, which attracts lakhs of devotees every year, came into the news this time due to the stampede on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. 30 people died and more than 60 people were injured in this incident. After the incident, the state government took immediate action and made several changes in the fair area.
Strict restrictions have been imposed on the entry of vehicles in the Maha Kumbh Mela area. Under this change, the fair area has now been declared a “no vehicle zone”. This means that no vehicles of any kind will be allowed to enter the fair area. This step has been taken especially to ensure the safety of the devotees so that any kind of overcrowding or accidents among them can be avoided. Under this decision, VVIP passes have also been canceled, so that vehicles with special passes cannot enter the fair area.
Apart from this, a one-way traffic system has been implemented to organize the movement of devotees. This system has been made to smoothen the flow of devotees, so that there is no jam or chaos on the way. The routes to and from the fair area have been determined in one direction only, so that the risk of accidents can be reduced. Along with this, vehicles coming from neighboring districts will be stopped before entering the fair area. This step has been taken to reduce congestion in the city.
To reduce congestion in the city, there will be a complete ban on the entry of four-wheelers till February 4. Under this decision, four-wheelers will not be allowed to enter the fair area, so that there is no chaos in the traffic and a safe path can be ensured for the devotees.
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Apart from these five major changes, IAS officers Ashish Goyal and Bhanu Goswami have been directed to reach Prayagraj immediately to manage the crowd in the fair area. These officers played an important role in the mela management in the 2019 Ardh Kumbh as well and they will help in improving the mela administration this time too. Ashish Goyal has been the Commissioner of Prayagraj, while Bhanu Goswami served as the District Magistrate and Vice-Chairman of the Kumbh Mela Authority. Additionally, five special secretary level officers experienced in handling large events have also been appointed to help in conducting the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also issued several guidelines to improve the system after this incident. He directed the officials to focus on crowd control, traffic management and inter-departmental coordination. The Chief Minister ordered the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) to review the Maha Kumbh arrangements. He directed the ADG and District Magistrate of Prayagraj to ensure that all the devotees have a safe and smooth departure from the city. The Chief Minister addressed senior police officers and officials of various districts through video conferencing and directed them to coordinate with the railway officials.
The Chief Minister also directed the Transport Corporation to run additional buses in view of the crowd, so that the devotees do not face any problem in commuting. Along with this, he directed to ensure that there is no crowd on the roads and traffic is not disrupted. The Chief Minister also said that the street vendors occupying the road should be removed so that there is no obstruction in the traffic. Apart from this, he also directed that the people who came to see the fair should not face unnecessary restrictions while roaming in the fair ground.
The state government on Wednesday announced a three-member judicial commission to investigate the causes of the stampede. The panel includes Justice Harsh Kumar, former Director General VK Gupta and retired IAS officer VK Singh. This commission has been entrusted with the task of investigating the stampede incident and finding out its causes. The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased, and has also assured to provide proper assistance to the injured for treatment.
The Maha Kumbh Mela attracts lakhs of devotees every year and special attention should be paid to security and arrangements in such events. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to keep a close watch on crowd control, traffic management and other arrangements, so that such incidents do not happen in future and devotees do not face any problems. The government has taken many important steps after this accident, which will help in improving the fair management in future.
