The Uttar Pradesh authorities has deployed two senior IAS officers, who had been a part of the staff that efficiently carried out the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, to supervise the sleek conduct of the Maha Kumbh Mela within the wake of the current stampede that left not less than 30 pilgrims useless.
“Ashish Goyal and Bhanu Chandra Goswami have hands-on experience in administration in Prayagraj, including a deep insight into crowd management and inter-agency coordination during the 2019 Ardh Kumbh,” an official stated.
They’ve joined Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand, forming a trio that was a part of the mega honest six years in the past, he stated.
In keeping with the official, the state authorities known as Mr. Goswami and Mr. Goyal from Lucknow to Prayagraj to make sure the sleek organisation of the upcoming Basant Panchami (Amrit Snan), one of many key bathing days of the competition on February 3.
“The duo played a crucial role in the seamless execution of the last Kumbh and has assumed their responsibilities,” he added.
Deputy Inspector Basic of Uttar Pradesh Police (Retd) Okay.P. Singh, who led the police preparations through the earlier Kumbh, praised the deployment of skilled officers for the occasion.
“This will help ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming Amrit Snan,” he instructed PTI.
A 1995-batch IAS officer, Mr. Goyal brings in depth administrative expertise, significantly in Prayagraj, the place he has served a number of instances in key positions.
He has a BTech in Electrical Engineering, an MA in Economics, and a PhD. He first served because the district Justice of the Peace and collector of Prayagraj (then Allahabad) from March 2007 to April 2008.
Throughout this era, he additionally briefly held the cost of vice chairman of the Allahabad Growth Authority. He was later posted as particular secretary within the Rural Growth Division of the UP authorities in Lucknow.
Goyal returned to Prayagraj in 2015 because the inspector normal of Stamp and Registration, earlier than being appointed divisional commissioner in 2017 — a submit he held till March 2020.
After a three-year stint as joint secretary within the Ministry of Rural Growth in Delhi, he returned from central deputation to Uttar Pradesh in 2023 as chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Energy Company Restricted.
Mr. Goswami is a 2009-batch IAS officer and a graduate of Sanskrit. Born in 1984, he additionally held essential roles in Prayagraj, first because the vice chairman of the Allahabad Growth Authority from Might 2017 to February 2019, and later because the district Justice of the Peace from 2019 to 2021.
After his tenure as DM, he was appointed the CEO of the Uttar Pradesh Rural Street Growth Authority in 2021. Since September 2024, he has been serving as aid commissioner, Consolidation Commissioner, and secretary within the Income Division of the UP authorities.
“Mr. Goswami’s familiarity with the region’s governance and his past experience in handling large-scale events, including the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, makes him a key player in managing the Maha Kumbh’s logistical and safety challenges,” an official stated.
Additionally, the UP authorities has deployed senior law enforcement officials to strengthen safety and crowd administration forward of Basant Panchami.
The federal government has assigned 4 senior police superintendents and three further superintendents to strengthen safety preparations on the spiritual gathering, the place thousands and thousands of devotees are anticipated to reach within the coming days.
Amongst them, Deependra Nath Chaudhary, who’s at present posted in Deoria, has been introduced in for the duty. Lakshminivas Mishra from the Anti-Corruption Division, Raj Dhari Chaurasia from the administration, and Shravan Kumar Singh, the DCP of Kanpur Nagar, have additionally been given key tasks.
Moreover, three officers on the degree of further superintendent of police have been entrusted with essential duties.
Vikash Chandra Tripathi, at present serving because the employees officer to the extra director normal of police, Legislation and Order, will oversee key coordination elements.
Omprakash Singh, presently posted in Basti, and Praveen Kumar Yadav, stationed in Shravasti, will contribute to the group administration and safety technique to forestall any extra tragic incidents.
With the Maha Kumbh witnessing an awesome inflow of pilgrims, the officers might be answerable for implementing tight crowd management to handle giant gatherings effectively, the official stated.
They’ll work in direction of enhancing motion pathways to forestall congestion and bottlenecks. A key focus might be on guaranteeing a fast emergency response mechanism to deal with crises successfully, he stated.
Safety coordination amongst a number of companies might be strengthened, together with real-time monitoring of high-density areas to forestall overcrowding.
The authorities may even implement enhanced barricading and stricter entry controls to keep away from conditions that would result in one other stampede. Elevated police patrolling might be carried out throughout key areas to keep up order and make sure the security of devotees, the official stated.
The Maha Kumbh is taken into account among the many holiest Hindu pilgrimages and is held each 12 years on Triveni Sangam banks. The mega congregation began on January 13 and can proceed until February 26.
To this point over 30 crore pilgrims have visited the Maha Kumbh and the UP authorities, which is internet hosting the occasion, expects the footfall can go as much as 45 crore.
A stampede within the early hours on Wednesday at Sangam Nostril left 30 devotees useless and 60 injured as they moved in a tightly packed crowd to take a dip within the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and legendary Saraswati on the event of Mauni Amavasya.
Printed – February 01, 2025 10:13 am IST
