Pilgrims in J’khand drop, postpone Kumbh plans, road to Varanasi choked

Hazaribag/Ranchi: After the stampede during the Shahi Snan on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya of the Maha Kumbh killed 30 pilgrims and injured 60 others earlier this week, devotees from Hazaribag and Ranchi have begun cancelling or rescheduling their plans to visit the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to stay clear of the huge crowds.In the last week or so, over 400 buses and tempo travellers left from different blocks of two districts with pilgrims. Meanwhile, around 1,200 other pilgrims, who were due to take the holy dip on ‘Shahi Snan' during Basant Panchami on February 3, have cancelled their visits.Speaking about the deaths during Maha Kumbh, 82-year-old Brinda Prasad of Hazaribag said: "After the stampede, I have postponed my plans for the Shahi Snan. I, however, want to go because this Kumbh Mela is an auspicious one which comes once every 144 years."Gayatri Devi, another Hazaribag resident from the Gandhinagar locality, said, "I wanted to take a dip during the upcoming Shahi Snan. But after the stampede, I got scared and cancelled my family's visit."In Ranchi, Mayank Shekhar had planned to travel with his family on February 7. "After the stampede, we sat down for a discussion at home. It was decided that we will visit Kumbh after Maghi Purnima, which is on February 11 as the crowd is likely to wane after that Shahi Snan," he told TOI.Meanwhile, long queues are choking traffic at the Barhi-Dehri on the Sone stretch of the NH-2 connecting Barhi in the district to Varanasi. Pilgrims, who left in private cars, buses and other vehicles for different parts of Jharkhand from Prayagraj said they had been stuck on the road for hours. "There was no water or food. The women accompanying us faced a tough time as there were no washrooms nearby. The traffic snarls stretched up to 60km," Ashok Kumar, a resident of Godda, said at Barhi."Traffic snarls between Dehri on Sone (Bihar) and Barhi also affected interstate buses and other vehicles. We are trying to clear the roads for smoother movement," Barhi SDPO Ajit Kumar Vimal said.