- विज्ञापन -
Patna: Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Union Railway Minister and RJD Chief, stated that the stampede at New Delhi railway station, which resulted in at least 18 fatalities, was due to Railway mismanagement. He expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and insisted that the Railway Minister should take accountability for the incident.
When asked about suggestions for managing crowds during the upcoming Maha Kumbh, he dismissed the event’s significance, saying, “Kumbh has no meaning. Kumbh is useless.”
The stampede occurred around 10 PM as thousands of devotees were making their way to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival, resulting in severe overcrowding at the station. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, the chaos began on platform 14, where the Prayagraj Express was scheduled, while delays in the departures of both the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani intensified congestion on platforms 12, 13, and 14.
An eyewitness recounted the pandemonium, noting that a sudden announcement about a platform change caused the crowd to surge from both directions, leading to the stampede. He mentioned the lack of crowd control, stating, “There was no one to manage the crowd when it was announced that the train would now arrive at platform 16 instead of 12. The crowd surged from both sides, leading to the chaos, and some people were taken to the hospital.”
Compounding the issue were delays and the sale of approximately 1,500 general tickets, which further added to the overwhelming crowd. Another eyewitness described the tumult, highlighting that even with the presence of administrative and NDRF personnel, the crowd was too large to manage effectively. “The crowd was out of control; people were even on the overbridge. Such a massive turnout was unexpected. Even with officials present, it became unmanageable once the crowd exceeded safe limits,” he said.
