Fire breaks out at MahaKumbh Mela in Prayagraj; no casualties reported
LUCKNOW, JAN 19 : A major fire broke out in to the tents of Sector 19 at Mahakumbh in Prayagraj on Sunday. There was no report of any casualty.
The fire which engulfed around 40 tents was triggered by the leakage of gas cylinder. It was then followed by a series of blasts in the gas cylinders.
“Two cylinders exploded in Sector 19 of the Maha Kumbh Mela, causing a massive fire in the camps.” Akhara Police Station In-charge Bhaskar Mishra said. “Firefighters have been pressed into service to douse the blaze,” added Mishra.
Visuals from the site showed plumes of smoke emerging. Upon receiving information, fire tenders reached the spot, and efforts are underway to extinguish the flames.
Members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are also present on the site.
Chief Fire Officer RK Pandey said efforts were underway to douse the flames. The Maha Kumbh began on January 13 and will continue until February 26. As of January 18, more than 77.2 million pilgrims have taken a dip at the Sangam Triveni during the Maha Kumbh 2025.
The CFO said no casualty was reported and firemen had controlled the fire. UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who had conducted an aerial survey of the Mahakumbh area in the morning, rushed the senior officials to the affected Sector 19.
Besides, Fire brigade, teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were already on the incident site engaged in relief and rescue work.
It was the seventh day of the world’s biggest religious congregation of humanity. Significantly, ruling out any casualty or injury to anyone, Prayagrak DM Ravindra Kumar Mandar said that he got the information about the fire at the Gita Press tent in Sector 19 around 4:30 pm.
“As the fire broke out in Gita press tent, it spread to 10 adjacent tents of Praygawal. The fore teams along with police and district administration teams rushed to the site and doused the flames immediately. There has been no loss of life or injury to anyone. The situation is normal and well under control,” said the DM.
Notably, in the Mahakumbh area, in order to handle any fire or fire-related accidents, four articulating water towers (AWT) equipped with advanced features have been installed. LWTs are normally used in high-rise buildings as they can douse the fire to a height of 35 metres.
Moreover, as per the official sources, in order to make the Mahakubh area fire-free, over 350 fire brigade, 50 fire brigade stations, 20 fire post have been installed along with the deployment of over 2000 trained manpower with expertise in handling fire accidents.
Meanwhile, in the Akhara area and other tents, fire protection equipment have been installed.
As per the mela authorities including the deputy commandant, the investigation into the reasons of fire is on.
-PTI
