A massive fire broke out at the Prayagraj Mahakumbh Mela on Sunday, engulfing the camps set up by Akhil Bharatiya Dharma Sangh and Gita Press Gorakhpur in Sector-19. Thankfully, no lives were lost in the incident, but many tents and their contents were completely destroyed. While the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, the trustee of Gita Press has raised serious concerns regarding the incident.
Gita Press trustee Krishna Kumar Khemkar said, ‘Where we had put up the boundary in the west direction, there was a circulating area on that side, where people take bath in the Ganges. From that side, someone threw something of fire towards us, due to which the spark turned into a big fire and all our camps were burnt to ashes.‘
Loss of crores due to fire
According to Krishna Kumar Khemkar, about 180 camps were burnt to ashes in this incident. He said, ‘We had completely banned any fire-related work in the camp. By the grace of God, there was no loss of life, but goods worth crores were destroyed.’
Cylinder blast suspected
Officials present at the site informed that the fire started with a cylinder explosion, which later spread to other cylinders. According to eyewitnesses, eight to nine cylinders exploded, due to which the fire took a terrible form. However, the fire brigade and NDRF teams controlled the fire after a lot of hard work.
NDRF DIG MK Sharma said, ‘All the teams present here immediately swung into action and the fire was controlled.‘
More than 250 tents estimated to have burned
Eyewitnesses present at the site claimed that about 250 tents were completely burnt in this fire. The flames were so high that it took hours to control it.
Investigation into the cause of the fire continues
It is not clear at the moment what was the real cause of the fire. The allegations made by the trustee of Geeta Press are being investigated. The administration has started an investigation to find out whether the fire started due to a cylinder explosion or some external reason.
This incident raises questions on the security arrangements in a grand event like Maha Kumbh. Officials have said that strict measures will be taken to avoid such incidents in future.