Kumbh stampede: Bathing ritual of akharas deferred due to overcrowding

Akhara Parishad chief Mahant Ravindra Puri says they were waiting for clearance from the Mela administration to proceed with the traditional akhara bathing rituals of saints, which however, would be much subdued

Lucknow: The head of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad Mahant Ravindra Puri on Wednesday said the traditional bathing ritual of all the akharas has been deferred due to “overcrowding” at the Sangam ghat amid the Maha Kumbh.

Multiple casualties were feared after a stampede at the Sangam in the early hours as millions of pilgrims turned up for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya, officials said.

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However, Puri, who is the head of the apex body of 13 akharas, did not refer to the stampede and said there was “overcrowding” at the Sangam.

“We are seeing that the crowd is decreasing now, and we are in talks with the Mela administration. If the crowd is decreasing, then we would like to take the snan,” Puri said.

Puri said he was waiting for clearance from the Mela administration to proceed with the traditional akhara bathing rituals of saints, which however, would be much subdued. “As soon as we get time from the Mela administration, we will take the bath,” he said.

Asked if the bathing ritual could also happen later in the evening, he said, “As soon as things normalise, we would take the bathing ritual.” Senior seers like Chidanand Saraswati Muni ji of the Parmarth Ashram were heard making appeals to the people to be cautious, guard against overcrowding, and take baths in the ghats nearest to them.

Despite the chaos that prevailed earlier in the day, the bathing ritual on the Mauni Amavasya day that many Hindus consider auspicious, the devotees after a brief lull, resumed the holy dip.

Earlier in the day, seers arrived at the Sangam banks at the Maha Kumbh to take the symbolic dip on Mauni Amavasya sans their traditional processions in wake of the situation at the Sangam.

“We took a symbolic dip sans our processions and shobha yatras as a gesture for those who are injured and victims. Our fullest sympathies are with them,” Juna Akhara head Mahant Avadeshanand said after the dip in which he and other saints, including yoga guru Ramdev, were seen holding hands to take a quick “symbolic dip”. “We also prayed for the peace and progress of the country,” the saints said.

According to a government statement about 2.78 crore people had taken the holy dip till 8 am. The total number of devotees who had taken a bath since January 13 had reached nearly 19.94 crore by this time.