The petition prays that the government should take immediate steps to acquire the properties and widen the roads leading to the Shahisnan so that devotees can move around easily
Does Maharashtra have a proper safety plan in place like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand to hold Kumbh Mela, which see about 1 crore devotees? The Bombay High Court has asked the state government to file a reply to this question by next month.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice MS Sonak while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Yogesh Ghode, a Nashik-based social activist, said: “Even though the petition refers to the 2003 stampede incident, the problem is still relevant and the government will have to enumerate the steps it has taken to safeguard the life of devotees in case of an emergency.”
The bench, relying on the petition details that mention about a special enactment being brought about by the three states that also hold the Kumbh Mela, said: “Does Maharashtra have a special act or a standard operating procedure which is to be adopted in case of emergency?”
Advocate Sachin Kadam, appearing for the petitioner, said, “There are several encroachments on different routes in Nashik, which is the Shahisnan city. Because the administration is not removing them, the roads are narrow and they cause inconvenience during the Kumbh.”
The petition prays that the government should take immediate steps to acquire the properties and widen the roads leading to the Shahisnan so that devotees can move around easily.
In 2003, due to a stampede, 29 persons died and over 100 were injured.
Devotes in lakhs throng Godavari river in Nahsik during Shahisnan, which is considered to be auspicious due to astrological reasons such as the planetary configuration occurring in a pattern that is repeated just once in many years.
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