Kumbh returnees: Focus on VIPs, we were treated like cattle
Times of India | 1 February 2025
123 Kolkata/Midnapore/Berhampore: Hundreds of pilgrims, who returned home from Mahakumbh to Kolkata in special trains and cars on Friday, narrated the horror and mismanagement of the fair organisers in Uttar Pradesh. They spoke about how several lanes and channels were kept reserved for VIPs and how other devotees were treated like ‘herds of cattle.'
‘The administration failed us completely there. It was like a death trap. We are lucky to come back alive. We saw hundreds of people falling sick, injured, and even dead, lying on the ground after the stampede, and we had to walk on them to reach safety," said Bimal Ghosh, a resident of Madhyamgram, who returned home on board the Durgiana Express.
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Subhojit Singh from Sodepur, who went to Mahakumbh with six of his family members, recalled how they were saved by just 10 minutes. "We left the Sector 3 zone barely 10 minutes before we heard there was a stampede behind us. Over the next few hours, all roads were sealed, and there was pandemonium all over. We had to walk for 12 hours to reach the main road as there was no one to guide us. We had to walk for another 7 km and then took a shuttle ride on bikes for Rs 400 per head, which dropped us at the Rambagh station," said Singh, adding they finally boarded Durgiana Express from Deen Dayal Upadhyay station but had to stand in the AC-2 tier coach for an entire day. Amal Kumar Biswas, another resident of Howrah who reached Kolkata Junction on the same train, said they walked more than 35 kilometres during the entire trip. "There was no basic food and water for general pilgrims," said Biswas. Kanchana Roy, a transgender person from Behrampore, said she walked 10 km to reach Jhusi to board a train.