Our Bureau
New Delhi
On 15th February, India witnessed a tragic accident as 18 innocent lives were lost in the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station during the Maha Kumbh rush. In Rajya Sabha, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed that the tragic stampede was caused by a fallen headload.
In Rajya Sabha, Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman raised a query on the tragic stampede to which the Union Railway Minister had responded to by showcasing the findings of a high-level inquiry committee. The committee investigated the events that led up to the tragic incident on 15th February.
Ashwini addressed the parliament and brought forward the findings of the report that stated a large bag or bundle which was referred to as “a big headload”, had fallen from one of the passengers. That big headload rippled a domino effect that caused people to trip and fall on the stairs connecting platforms 14 and 15. This led to people falling on each other with many getting injured and some even losing their lives.
“There was a gradual increase of passenger density on the foot overbridge (FOB) after 8:15 pm. Many were carrying heavy loads on their heads, obstructing smooth movement. One such headload fell, causing pressure to shift toward the stairs,” said Vaishnaw in a written reply. “This led to passengers tripping at 8:48 pm on FOB-3. Consequently, people fell on each other.”
The tragic stampede happened during the peak rush hours as trains that were meant to travel to Prayagraj were at the platform. This was the time where the 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela was the main centre of attraction and people were rushing to Prayagraj from all over the country and even from outside the country. It was reported that around 49,000 general tickets were sold on the day which was 13,000 more than the average sales which led to overcrowding across key platforms.
