Kolkata: Pilgrims from West Bengal who have visited Maha Kubh and have witnessed the fiery stampede at the wee hours of Wednesday shared their experiences.

Rupak Talukdar said that he and his friends were about to take the holy dip at Mauni Amavasya when the incident took place.

“There were lapses from the police side for which crores of people have broken the barricades and the chaos took place that took away several lives and left many injured. I had spoken with the police and they said that they had thought six crore people were likely to visit for the dip but it was 10 crore plus people,” said Talukdar.

Sanjit Sahoo who got injured mentioned that the sight was horrific and also that he will have the ‘nightmare’ till he lives.

Hiramoti Pandit, mother of injured Dinesh Pandit and said his son got injured during the stampede and alo that two of his son’s friends went missing after the incident.

“My son called me and informed me about the incident and said that he was given first aid. He also informed all his five friends were missing and later confirmed that though got connected with three friends but two friends are still missing,” said Hiramoti.

Politics over the stampede

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoling the death of people at Maha Kumbh said, “I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh, which has claimed at least 15 innocent lives. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved pilgrim families. My learning from our Gangasagar Mela is that planning and care must be maximal in matters relating to pilgrims' lives in vast assemblies of people. Prayers for the departed souls.”

Countering the Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “Firstly, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims who lost their lives and those who got injured. Even though your expression of sadness towards the victims of the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh felt genuine at the beginning, the subtle dig regarding the comparison with the arrangement of Gangasagar Mela exposed your hypocritical attitude. It seems you were waiting for the opportunity to feign sorrow.’ (sic)

Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty also slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to manage the crowd.