"No Such Data Maintained Centrally": Home Ministry On Maha Kumbh Deaths

Six weeks after a stampede during the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, the Union Home Ministry has told the Lok Sabha the centre did not conduct an inquiry of its own and does not have data on the number of dead and injured. Junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai said, "Conducting an inquiry into disasters, including stampedes, and provision of financial aid to families is the state's purview."

"State governments are competent to deal with such situations. No such data is maintained centrally," he said in response to a question by Congress' KC Venugopal and Kirsan Namdeo.

At least 30 people were killed in the stampede, according to Vaibhav Krishna, the senior UP cop assigned to oversee security during the Maha Kumbh. Sixty others were injured, he said.

Mr Venugopal and Mr Namdeo had pressed the centre on the numbers of dead and injured in the stampede on January 29, as well as steps taken to investigate the cause.

The junior Home Minister pointed out that 'public order' and 'police' were state government-controlled subjects, and the "organisation of religious congregations (and) management of crowds" - key to prevent such disasters - are closely linked to 'public order', he said.

Mr Rai said the National Disaster Management Authority had, as required, circulated detailed guidelines on crowd management, as too did the Bureau of Police Research and Development.

"Based on these templates, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory to all states and union territories to prepare their own SOPs for crowd management..." he told the House.

The Maha Kumbh stampede triggered a massive political row, with the opposition, led by the Samajwadi Party of ex-UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, leading the attack on the centre.

"... devotees going to the Kumbh were stuck in a 300km-long traffic jam. Is this 'Viksit Bharat'? In which the government cannot even manage traffic? What is the point of going to the Moon when we cannot settle issues on Earth," he asked in Parliament.

READ | "Point Of Going To The Moon?" Akhilesh Yadav's Maha Kumbh Swipe

Mr Yadav was joined by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who re-named the Maha Kumbh a 'Mrityu (death) Kumbh'. "How many bodies have been recovered?" she asked.

READ | "'Mrityu' Kumbh...": Mamata Banerjee's Scathing Attack On Stampede

Questions over the number of dead were re-raised today as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the success of the Maha Kumbh that was held from January 13 to February 26.

Mr Modi's speech was swiftly red-flagged by the opposition, for whom Congress MP Rahul Gandhi pointed out there was no mention at all of those who had died in the stampede.

READ | PM Praises Maha Kumbh In Parliament, Opposition Asks Questions

"I wanted to support what the Prime Minister (Modi) said. Kumbh is our tradition, history and culture. Our only complaint is that the Prime Minister did not pay tribute to those who died in Kumbh," he said.

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