Allahabad stampede: Unruly crowd or railways, whom to blame?

New Delhi, Feb 11: Tragedies are not new to pilgrims in India. One more tragedy confronted pilgrims, who were returning back after taking their holy bath at Maha Kumbh. Media reports say at least 39 people were killed in a

at

railway station on Sunday evening.

The tragedy occurred around 7 pm on a footbridge between platform number 5 and 6 of the station. Lakhs of people were present at the station around that time, many on their way back from Allahabad after taking a holy dip in the ongoing Kumbh Mela.

Blame game has already started over the deaths. Many passengers have blamed the railways for failing to provide adequate numbers of trains to ferry the passengers.

Main opposition party BJP has blamed both the central and the state governments for the stampede.

"The matter has to be looked into. The railway Minister cannot get away with a technical answer that the foot over bridge did not collapse", he said.

"If precaution was taken from the start, this (Allahabad stampede) would not have happened," BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.

"Investigations need to be carried out, those responsible (for Allahabad stampede) need to be punished," he said.

Railway minister Pawan Bansal has rushed to Allahabad with Railway Board Chairman for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

However, ruling party of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party has blamed Central government for not providing adequate facilities to tackle the issue.

The Press Information Bureau has announced that as many as 220 special trains will be deployed to Allahabad to clear the backlog of commuters trying to leave the city after the Maha Kumbh.

It added that several additional special trains have been running since yesterday from the Allahabad area.

The government will also give Rs 50,000 to people who have been seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to people with minor injuries.

OneIndia News