Five from MP among Maha Kumbh stampede victims says CM Yadav

Bhopal, Jan 31 (PTI) At least five persons from Madhya Pradesh were among the 30 victims killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Friday.
The CM also directed the officials to provide an assistance of Rs four lakh to the kin of each deceased.
Yadav, who is currently on a four-day tour of Japan, said in a Hindi post on X, "So far, the death of five devotees from Madhya Pradesh has been confirmed in the extremely painful accident that took place at Prayagraj Maha Kumbh."
"On the untimely tragic death of all the five devotees, I direct to increase the financial assistance provided to the families from the Chief Minister's discretionary fund from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh," he said.
In this hour of grief, our government is committed to provide all possible help to the bereaved families, he said in the post.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh on Wednesday as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on 'Mauni Amavasya'.
When asked, officials said two persons - a woman and a man - from Madhya Pradesh have died in the Maha Kumbh.
The woman, Hukum Bai Lodhi, was a resident of Chhatarpur district, while the man identified and Mohanlal Ahirwar, a resident of Raisen district, died in Maha Kumbh stampede, officials said.
Although the chief minister has confirmed the deaths of five persons, details about three other victims were not yet available with the officials in Bhopal.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)