Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: 'Will make better arrangements for Basant Panchami,' says UP DGP

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh has banned VIP protocols during the 'Amrit Snan' and other major bathing festivals at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj to ensure an equal experience for all pilgrims.

A press release issued by the UP government on Thursday stated that no special privileges would be given to VIPs and VVIP delegations visiting Prayagraj during Vasant Panchami, Magh Purnima, and Mahashivratri, as well as one day before and after these festivals.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: In response to the tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh, Uttar Pradesh authorities in Prayagraj have promised to implement enhanced measures for the upcoming Basant Panchami (Third Shahi Snan) on February 3.

The ongoing Maha Kumbh, one of the largest religious gatherings globally, witnessed the stampede early Wednesday morning, resulting in 30 fatalities and numerous injuries, drawing widespread condolences from political leaders.

According to the latest update, at least 30 people lost their lives, and 60 others were injured in the pre-dawn incident, as reported by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna. He mentioned that 25 of the deceased have been identified.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh visited Swaroop Rani Memorial Hospital on Thursday to meet the victims of the Maha Kumbh stampede, which resulted in 30 deaths and left 60 injured during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual.

During his visit, the Congress leader strongly condemned the Kumbh administration and police, calling the tragedy a "serious failure in crowd management."

Singh accused the administration of negligence, alleging that officials ignored expert advice despite multiple warnings.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Opposition parties at an all-party meeting on Thursday urged a parliamentary discussion on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and accused the UP government of prioritising VIPs over common pilgrims. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that the Business Advisory Committee would decide the agenda for the Budget Session starting January 31. Rijiju called the meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh constructive and sought cooperation from opposition parties, emphasizing that the main priorities for the session were the customary discussions on the President's address and the Union Budget.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and UP DGP Prashant Kumar visited Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital on Thursday, where those injured in the stampede at Maha Kumbh are being treated.

DIG Maha Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna, said on Thursday that the police are working diligently on security arrangements for the upcoming Amrit Snan on Basant Panchami (February 3), ensuring strict security measures in the mela area.

The stampede, which occurred early Wednesday morning in the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh, resulted in 30 deaths and 60 injuries as millions of pilgrims rushed to take a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya, one of the most sacred days of the Hindu calendar.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Speaking to news agency ANI, a foreign tourist attending Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj said, "...My group feels wonderful here. We are grateful to India for such nice people and this festival...We wanted to come here to witness this festival."

Another foreign visitor at the Maha Kumbh 2025 commented, "I am very happy to be here. It is such a beautiful place."

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: A fire broke out in some of the tents set up in an open area under the Chatnag Ghat Police Station area in Prayagraj today, news agency ANI reported.

The fire department managed to extinguish the blaze, and no casualties were reported.

A video shared by ANI showed fire department officers working to put out the flames, with some of the tents visibly damaged in the footage.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: The Odisha government cancelled the special bus service to the Maha Kumbh Mela until February 4, according to an official notice issued on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.

The notice said, "Due to unavoidable circumstances, the special bus service to Ayodhya for Maha Kumbh Mela stands cancelled with immediate effect till February 4."

It also mentioned that further updates would be provided on the government’s official social media channels and website. Originally, the special bus service was scheduled to run until February 26.

The cancellation comes a day after a tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh in the Sangam area, where at least 30 people were killed, 60 injured, and several went missing. The stampede occurred as millions of pilgrims gathered for a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the event.

Prayagraj Maha Kumbh stampede: Judicial Committee Chairman, Retd. Justice Harsh Kumar told news agency ANI that they aim to submit the report within a month.

“We are expected to submit the report within a month. Tomorrow morning we will go for site inspection, and though we cannot say how long it will take, we will try to complete the work as soon as possible... Site inspection should be done as soon as possible for better accuracy... It would be premature to say anything before that,” he said.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: On the Mahakumbh stampede and Mamata Banerjee's statement, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, “What Mamata Banerjee is doing is not right... Gangasagar Mela is okay, but she is not going to get the opportunity to manage a crowd of 5-7 crore people performing their rituals at once... They (TMC) are jealous of such a grand religious event due to their own political agenda and high appeasement politics... Even after such a huge and saddening incident, people are able to bathe in the Mela, and all is going well as of now... Mamata Banerjee is saying worse politically motivated things, and everyone knows how people like Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal do politics of appeasement... TMC's leader threatened and stopped Saraswati Pooja, this is what Mamata Banerjee should pay attention to.”

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Four devotees from Karnataka’s Belagavi, who died in the Maha Kumbh stampede, arrived at Delhi Airport around 12 pm on Thursday, Belagavi District Commissioner Mohammad Roshan told ANI.

The bodies will be transported to Belagavi this evening. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed the district administration to receive them upon arrival, Roshan said.

Due to time constraints, the post-mortem in Delhi was cancelled, and arrangements are being made for it to be conducted in Belagavi.

Earlier, Karnataka Minister Krishna Byre Gowda stated that senior officials are coordinating efforts to bring back the bodies.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Three people returning from the Maha Kumbh were killed when their car collided with a bus on the Jaunpur-Raebareli highway early Thursday, reports PTI.

The victims were identified as Sanjay Singh (45), his wife Vidyavati Singh (43) and another woman identified as Bindu Singh (40).

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday, launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the Uttar Pradesh government over Prayagraj's Kumbh Mela management.

"At such times, VIPs should stay away. The entire area was shut down for a day each for the Defence Minister, Home Minister, and other Central Ministers. This led to a chaotic situation," he claimed.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: On Mahakumbh stampede, Parmarth Niketan Ashram President Swami Chidanand Saraswati tells ANI: “On Mauni Amavasya, an incident happened. There were all the arrangements but due to the mistake of few people, who did not listen to the administration and ignored the barricading, this incident happened. We all are grieving the demise of the people...The whole country, state and the saint community are standing with the bereaved families.”

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Indigo CEO Pieter Elbers visited the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj over the weekend, joining millions of people who are at the world’s largest religious festival. “Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Once in 144 years...the largest gathering of mankind on planet Earth!” he wrote on LinkedIn.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court, alleging “lapses, negligence, and utter failure of administration” on part of the Uttar Pradesh government over the stampede at the Maha Kumbh on Wednesday.

The petition, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, sought directions from the top court to formulate policies and regulations to prevent such tragedies at large religious gatherings. Read more.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Family members gathered in UP's Ballia at the home of a mother and daughter who lost their lives in the Mahakumbh stampede early Wednesday morning in Prayagaraj, reported ANI.

The mother and daughter were among four victims from their district in the tragic incident. 30 people died and several others were injured in total.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: More than 55 lakh people have taken a holy dip today till 8am. More than 27 crore people have taken a holy dip till January 29, as per the UP govt.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: A day after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj left 30 dead and 60 injured, the Uttar Pradesh government rolled out five stricter safety measures, including a no-vehicle zone.

No special passes will be issued and vehicle entry into the are will be strictly prohibited, with no exceptions. Read more.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Devotees continue to arrive at the ghats in Maha Kumbh Kshetra to take a holy dip.

"We took the holy dip today. We had come here yesterday, but it was too crowded. The crowd has started to swell now. The arrangements by Yogi ji and Modi ji are very good. Everything is going on smoothly," Pramod Tanwar, who has come to Sangam from Gurugram tells PTI.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: A pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh early on Wednesday claimed 30 lives and left 60 others injured. The stampede occurred as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. Read more.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: UP CM Yogi Adityanath has directed ADG and the district magistrate of Prayagraj to ensure the safe and smooth departure of every devotee.

“It is our responsibility to facilitate their journey. To achieve this, seamless coordination with the Railways must be maintained to ensure continuous train operations. Extra buses from the transport corporation should be deployed to accommodate the rush,” he said.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Five Special Secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations, according to the government statement.

It said they will remain in Prayagraj until February 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements. Moreover, Superintendent of Police-level officers will also be deployed for enhanced management and security, the statement said.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: Following the stampede at the Maha Kumbh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has issued a slew of guidelines on crowd management, traffic flow, prevention of build-up of devotees and coordination among departments.

He has ordered the deployment of Ashish Goyal, who served as Divisional Commissioner of Prayagraj during Kumbh 2019, and Bhanu Goswami, a former Vice Chairman of ADA, to further strengthen the arrangements, according to an official statement.

Adityanath has also asked the chief secretary and the director general of police to conduct a thorough review of the Maha Kumbh Mela arrangements today.

Maha Kumbh 2025 Live: A sub-inspector, Anjani Kumar Rai, deployed in the Sangam Nose area, where a stampede occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, died later in the evening. Read here.