Maha Kumbh stampede: Congress slams Centre, Adityanath government for 'half-baked' arrangements
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over the "stampede-like" situation at the Sangam, demanding that the Maha Kumbh management be handed over to a better administrator than Chief Minister Adityanath and the movement of VVIPs there be stopped.
Multiple casualties were feared after a "stampede-like" situation broke out at the Sangam on Wednesday amid the ongoing Maha Kumbh, as millions of pilgrims turned up for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya, officials said.
In view of the incident, the akharas called off their traditional 'Amrit Snan' for Mauni Amavasya, even as devotees in large numbers continued to take a dip at Sangam and other ghats in the Mela area.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the news of "many people losing their lives" and many people getting injured due to the stampede on the banks of the Tirthraj Sangam during the Maha Kumbh is extremely heartbreaking.
"Our deepest condolences to the families of the devotees and we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said.
"Half-baked arrangements, VIP movement, paying more attention to self-promotion and mismanagement are responsible for this. Such arrangements despite spending thousands of crores of rupees are condemnable," the Congress chief said in a post in Hindi on X.
"Many important 'shahi snans' are still left, so the central and state governments should wake up now, and improve the system so that such unpleasant incidents do not happen in future," Kharge said.
"The arrangements for accommodation, food, first aid and movement of devotees etc. should be expanded and VIP movement should be reined in. This is what our saints and sages also want," he said.
Kharge urged Congress workers to help the victims in every possible way.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The death of many devotees in the stampede during Kumbh bath in Prayagraj is very saddening. The kind of crowd that was there and the half-baked arrangements that were put in place, there was always a danger of such an accident happening," Khera said.
Many 'maha snans' are still left, so it is necessary that additional security forces be sent there and the responsibility of management be given to some other better administrator than Adityanath, Khera said and demanded that the movement of VVIPs be stopped.
Officer on Special Duty for the Mela Akanksha Rana said, "Some people have got injured and have been hospitalised after a barrier broke at the Sangam. We are yet to have the exact count of those injured".
The Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya is the most significant ritual of the Maha Kumbh and is expected to draw around 10 crore pilgrims.
This year, a rare celestial alignment called 'Triveni Yog' is occurring after 144 years, amplifying the spiritual significance of the day.
Around 2:00 am, the blaring sirens of ambulances and police vehicles rushing to the Sangam pierced through the continuous chants of mantras and shlokas echoing from loudspeakers across the Kumbh Mela area.
Those injured were taken to the central hospital established in the Mela area. Relatives of many injured also reached there, as did some senior administrative and police officials.
The Triveni Sangam -- confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati -- is considered the holiest by Hindus, with a belief that taking a dip in it during Maha Kumbh and particularly on special bathing dates like Mauni Amavasya washes away people's sins and provides them 'moksha' or salvation.
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Rupee falls 28 paise to 94.77 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 28 paise to 94.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as market sentiment took a dramatic turn after reports emerged that the US and Iran are discussing a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing tensions and reopening negotiations.
Forex traders said Brent oil prices, which had fallen to USD 98 on the US-Iran peace deal, edged slightly higher to USD 101 per barrel after investors weighed the prospects for a Middle East peace deal.
Moreover, factors such as unabated foreign capital outflows amid rising geopolitical uncertainties further dented investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.77 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 28 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 69 paise to close at 94.49 against the US dollar.
"Markets are currently focused on the critical 48-hour window during which the US expects Tehran’s formal response through Pakistani mediators," said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.01, down 0.01 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.65 per cent at USD 101.83 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 160.24 points to 77,798.28 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 30.25 points to 24,300.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,834.90 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, the country's goods and services exports rose 4.6 per cent to an all-time high of USD 863.11 billion during 2025-26, up from USD 825.26 billion in 2024-25, despite global economic uncertainties, according to revised commerce ministry data.
Merchandise exports grew 0.93 per cent to USD 441.78 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 437.70 billion in 2024-25, the data showed.
