LUCKNOW: After the stampede at Maha Kumbh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with senior officials on Wednesday night and issued directions for crowd management in the mela area.
During video conference, the CM gathered information from officials in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mirzapur, and Chitrakoot regarding arrangements for devotees arriving from various regions.
He directed officials from districts bordering Prayagraj to maintain close contact and coordination with the district administration.
The meeting was attended by senior administrative and police officials from Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mirzapur, Basti, Jaunpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Ambedkarnagar, Pratapgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi, Rae Bareli, and Gorakhpur.
The next ‘Amrit Snan’ of Basant Panchami will take place on Feb 3. The chief secretary and the director general of police have been deputed to travel to Prayagraj on Thursday and review the arrangements in the mela area to resolve all issues related to security and convenience of visitors.
To streamline arrangements in the mela area, the govt has appointed Ashish Goyal, who served as the divisional commissioner of Prayagraj during the 2019 Kumbh, and Bhanu Goswami, the vice-chairman of Allahabad Development Authority, in the mela administration.
Five officers at the level of special secretary have also been sent to Prayagraj till Feb 12 to assist in arrangements. Officers at the level of superintendent of police have also been deployed.
“Crores of devotees visiting Maha Kumbh will also travel to Varanasi and Ayodhya. Many devotees are also heading to Chitrakoot and Mirzapur. More people are expected to arrive in the next two days. Therefore, special vigilance is required in all major cities. Maintain continuous vigilance and caution. Create holding areas to stop people and allow them to proceed based on circumstances. Use barricading and ensure better traffic management by continuously monitoring the situation,” the CM said.
As large number of devotees are returning to their homes from railway stations in Prayagraj, Yogi directed the ADG and the Prayagraj district magistrate to ensure that all devotees reach their destinations safely.
“Continuous operation of trains should be ensured through coordination with railways and additional UPSRTC buses should also be deployed,” he said.
“To prevent overcrowding, holding areas have been created in border regions. Allow devotees to proceed to Prayagraj according to the prevailing situation. Arrangements for food and drinking water should be made at places where people are stopped. There should be no disruption in electricity supply in any holding area,” the CM said.
He directed officials in districts bordering Prayagraj to follow all instructions received from Prayagraj. “The administration and police in these districts should increase patrolling and ensure that there are no traffic obstructions on Ayodhya-Prayagraj, Kanpur-Prayagraj, Fatehpur-Prayagraj, Lucknow-Pratapgarh-Prayagraj, and Varanasi-Prayagraj routes,” he said, adding that routes from Prayagraj should remain open at all times.
He said that restrictions should be avoided in the mela area and people should not be stopped. “Street vendors on the roads should be relocated to empty areas,” he added.
