Three million Hindus take ‘holy dip’ a day after fatal crowd crush

The Mahakumbh Mela festival, which took place one day after dozens of people died at the largest religious gathering in the world, has gathered colossally in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj.

As more people poured into the city’s train and bus stations to attend the festival, some attendees remained enthralled despite the deadly crush.

In the crowded crowd, Krishna Soni, an Indian student from Rajasthan’s western state, and his family, who is eight, tied themselves together using string to prevent losing one another.

Police said 30 people were killed in Wednesday’s crush and 60 were injured.

The Mahakumbh Mela – held every 12 years – is expected to draw some 400 million devotees this year, officials estimate.

The festival is taking place at a 4, 000-hectare (9, 900-acre) temporary township created for the purpose on the river banks – the size of 7, 500 football fields.

Nearly 150 000 tents and restrooms have been constructed in order to accommodate devotees.

Source: Aljazeera