Prayagraj: Traffic jams stretching up to 20 km has emerged as a major cause of concern for Maha Kumbh organisers.
Even as the crowd in the fair area keeps getting bigger, the seven main routes to the city are facing severe traffic snarls. While the police have closed most of the pontoon bridges in the fair area, given the huge crowd, the railways has also separated the entry and exit routes at Prayagraj junction. Devotees struggling with the rush and traffic jams blamed the VVIP culture. They said one has to walk 15 to 20 km to reach the Sangam coast.
11 hours for 100 km
Ramgovind Mishra and his wife Gangavati of Sultanpur said they had boarded a roadways bus at 3.30 pm on Saturday and came to Prayagraj via Phaphamau. The bus was stuck in ta raffic jam for around two-and-a-half hours on the way. Ramgovind said that the government claims that 500 shuttle buses are being run to the fair but he could not find any on reaching Prayagraj. "We reserved a tempo and travelled to Civil Lines. It took one-and-a-half hours to reach Civil Lines from Phaphamau, while the journey is usually of 20 to 25 minutes. No means of transport was available to go to Mahakumbh from Civil Lines. The road was completely choked with crowd. We thought it wise to walk for 12 km. The police had diverted the route at many places in the fair area. So it was 1.45 am when we finally reached Sangam. It took us 11 hours to cover a distance of 100 km," he said.
Stuck in traffic jam for 10 to 12 hours
Ankita, who came to Prayagraj from Delhi to take a bath said while the journey usually takes 10 to 12 hours but it took her almost 24 hours to reach Sangam from the national capital. "We were stuck in a traffic jam for 10 to 12 hours. Even after reaching Prayagraj, we were stuck in traffic jam for around seven hours," she said.
The crowd at Mahakumbh has increased manifold. Traffic jams on roads to Prayagraj from Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Rewa have become a major issue. Even movement within the city has become a challenge for devotees. DIG Kumbh Vaibhav Krishna saidt the crowd has increased due to the weekend. "Route diversion has been implemented. Our primary objective is to ensure that devotees take the holy dip safely. But the crowd is not being allowed to stop at Sangam. After bathing, the devotees are being removed from the ghat," he said.
But the restrictions often lead to unpleasant situations. Even though police have erected barricades on the way to the fair area, this has not gone down well with the devotees who have to walk more as a result.
It has been 26 days since the fair started. So far, more than 42 crore devotees have taken baths in the holy Sangam. Given the increasing number of crowds in Mahakumbh, Railways has planned to keep its single-direction plan in force till further orders. Railways has determined separate routes for the entry and exit of pilgrims at the station. North Central Railway Public Relations Officer Amit Singh said passengers will be allowed to enter Prayagraj Junction station only from City Side Platform No 1, while exit will be from Civil Lines side, Platform No 6 and 10.
Meanwhile, a PIL has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking the formation of a judicial monitoring committee to collect details of the missing people in the stampede that took place on January 29 at the Maha Kumbh. This petition has been filed by Suresh Chandra Pandey.
The petitioner sought the court to direct the Chief Medical Officer Kumbh Mela and Chief Medical Officer Prayagraj to submit the record of admission of injured in the mortuary and disposal of dead bodies after the recent stampede.
Recently, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking action against the officials of Uttar Pradesh state in connection with the Maha Kumbh stampede. The court refused to consider it. The Supreme Court called the incident unfortunate and asked the petitioner to go to the High Court.
