Lucknow: The Maha Kumbh Mela is underway in Prayagraj and Samajwadi Party (SP) President and MP Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is underreporting the number of devotees attending the religious event.
The Yogi Adityanath-led government has officially recorded 501.1 million (50.11 crore) participants so far but Yadav, son of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, claimed the actual number of devotees who visited the religious event is around 600 million (60 crore).
Addressing a press conference here, Akhilesh Yadav accused the Uttar Pradesh government of deliberately providing lower figures to conceal its administrative shortcomings.
"By now, 600 million people (60 crores) must have taken a (holy )bath, but the (state) government is not disclosing the actual number. They are deliberately underreporting figures so that, in the future, if someone studies the administrative or management aspects, their failures and mismanagement will be exposed," added the Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo.
He also urged the Yogi Adityanath-led government to extend the Mahakumbh period so that elderly devotees could take a holy dip at Triveni Sangam.
"There are many elderly people - those above sixty-five or seventy years - who have not been able to take a bath. They wished to participate in religious programs, but due to various reasons, they couldn't. At one time, the Kumbh used to last seventy-five days. During Emperor Harshavardhana's time, it was even longer, attracting people from all religions and distant places. So, we demand the government should extend it," Yadav said.
Highlighting logistical challenges, the SP chief pointed to traffic congestion and the risk of stampedes as key reasons for elderly devotees missing the event. He also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to use drone technology effectively.
"The government had earlier stated that drones should be used, and even conducted programs on it. But where drones were actually needed, they were not deployed," the SP supremo added.
Referring to the state's "Digital Kumbh" initiative, he added, "The government spoke about a Digital Kumbh, but it is not even able to provide accurate figures yet."
"Our demand is that the residents of Prayagraj, who are yet to take a bath, should be given the opportunity. Therefore, this Kumbh event should be prolonged and extended," Yadav added.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Information Department stated that as of today, 501.1 million people have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. It also noted that the Mahakumbh has become the first event in the world to have over 500 million direct participants.
