A fire in an 11-floor building in Mumbai claimed the live of a 42-year-old woman and injured three others. The blaze, confined to the ground floor’s electric wiring, was extinguished quickly.
The New Delhi Railway Station continued to witness a surge in crowd more than 12 hours after at least 18 people, mostly women and children, died in a stampede while waiting to board trains to Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh festival is being hosted.
More police personnel have now been deployed to the platforms and ropes are being used to regulate the crowds after the incident, which took place around 10 pm on Saturday.
“There was a lot of rush at the platform numbers 12, 15 and 16. There is no such crowd usually,” a man who had a shop at the station told NDTV.
Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has ordered a “high-level inquiry” into the causes of the accident, has said additional special trains were being run from New Delhi to clear the rush of devotees.
Railways has also announced the names of two high administrative group officials, who will be part of the inquiry committee constituted to probe the stampede.
Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Northern Railway and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Northern Railway are the members of the committee.
The committee has commenced its inquiry and has given orders to secure all video footage of the New Delhi Railway Station.
A compensation of Rs 10 lakh each has been announced for the families of those killed in the incident. Those seriously injured will get Rs 2.5 lakh and those with minor injuries 1 lakh, the railway said.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station broke out after a rumour spread among people that the Prayagraj Express was going to arrive on a different platform. The Railway authorities, however, have denied the claim.
Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay said some people who were coming down from a foot-over bridge towards platform numbers 14 and 15 using stairs slipped and fell on others.
“No train was cancelled, nor was there any change in platform,” he said.
He also said that at the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was standing at platform number 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was stationed at platform number 15.
Millions of devotees from across the country have been visiting Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh.
According to the Uttar Pradesh government, more than 50 crore devotees have so far taken a holy dip during the Maha Kumbh, which started on January 13 on the banks of the Triveni Sangam — the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, considered holy among Hindus.
The event has also led to massive traffic in Prayagraj and neighbouring cities.
The festival is scheduled to continue till February 26.
Millions of devotees from across India have been visiting the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj – one that is held every 12 years – causing a huge rush in trains and traffic on roads. A wave of stampede-like incidents and angry passengers breaking train windows as they were unable to board the train to Maha Kumbh amid the rush have come to light recently.
Last night, at least 18 people, including 11 women and five children, died after a huge crowd of passengers caused by two delayed trains and a special Express train to Maha Kumbh led to a stampede at the New Delhi Railway station.
While eyewitnesses claimed that the stampede took place after a rumour spread among people that the Prayagraj Express was going to arrive on a different platform, the Railway authorities have repeatedly denied it. Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, CPRO Northern Railway said that there was already a huge rush on the station’s platform when a passenger slipped on the nearby stairs, leading to the deadly stampede.
According to the official, platforms number 13 and 14 at the New Delhi Railway station were already crowded as many people were waiting to board two trains – Magdh Express and another going towards Jammu – which were delayed. Amid this, a special train for Maha Kumbh, the Prayagraj Express, was to leave at 10:10 pm from platform number 14. As the time for the train to Prayagraj neared, more and more people started gathering on the platform, adding to the existing rush. During this time, more than a thousand general tickets were bought by passengers to go to Maha Kumbh, officials said.
“Trains were not cancelled, and the platform was not changed. All trains have been running as per its schedule,” he said.
The Railways has also formed a two-member high-level committee to probe the incident. Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Northern Railway and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Northern Railway are a part of the committee, officials said.
The committee, which has commenced its inquiry, gave orders to secure all video footage of the New Delhi Railway Station.
How Railways is managing Maha Kumbh rush in Prayagraj
As millions of people are visiting Prayagraj, the railway authorities have made extensive security measures across the city’s stations.
Shashikant Tripathi, CRPO of North Central Railway told NDTV that they have been maintaining protocol at all railway stations in the city. “Through these protocols, either on normal day rush or key days like ‘mauni amavasiya’, we have made a smooth entry and exit for passengers. With the help of colour-coded areas, we have helped the passengers board and deboard trains safely.”
According to him, they do not need to enforce any new protocols.
“We have been working well with these protocols. In the case of Prayagraj junction, we only allow the passengers to enter through the city side and the exit is done through civil lines side. We have 4 passenger sheds which are colour-coded and directions have been defined on them. Whenever the limit of passengers crosses at these sheds, we activate the Kusrow Bagh area – from where the passengers can travel. All basic amenities have also been provided at these locations,” he added.