At least 10 people, all of whom were devotees from Chhattisgarh headed towards the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, died after their Bolero car collided with a bus on the Mirzapur-Prayagraj highway, police said. The twin collision, which occurred around midnight, also injured 19 others.
The devotees who died while travelling in the car belonged to Chhattisgarh’s Korba. They were en route to the Kumbh to take a holy dip at the Sangam. The bus also comprised pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh at the time of the accident.
“Ten people died after a car carrying devotees from Chhattisgarh to the Maha Kumbh collided with a bus. The accident occurred on the Prayagraj-Mirzapur highway around midnight. The bodies have been taken to Swaroop Rani Medical Hospital for post-mortem. Further investigation is going on,” Prayagraj Additional SP Vivek Chandra Yadav said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took note of the road accident in Prayagraj and directed the officials to reach the spot and expedite the relief work.
The Chief Minister also directed proper treatment of the injured.
PAST ACCIDENTS INVOLVING MAHA KUMBH PILGRIMS
This is not the first instance that such accidents involving Maha Kumbh devotees occurred.
On Tuesday, seven people from Andhra Pradesh, who were returning from the Maha Kumbh, died after their tempo traveller collided with a truck on a highway in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district.
On Monday, a couple from Agra died and four others were injured when their car collided with a truck while they were returning from the Kumbh. According to Station House Officer Rudra Pratap Singh, the truck was seized and the driver was detained.
A man from Odisha’s Rourkela died and six others were injured when a car carrying them from the Maha Kumbh to their home collided with a bus in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra on Monday, police said.
The Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest spiritual gathering, began on January 13. It will go on till February 26, the day when Maha Shivaratri will be observed.
According to the Uttar Pradesh government, over 92 lakh devotees had taken a dip till 6 pm on Friday alone, pushing the overall footfall at Maha Kumbh past 50 crore (till Friday).
(with inputs from PTI)
