Lucknow, Feb 10 (UNI) Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said that lakhs of devotees are facing severe problems in Prayagraj Maha Kumbh and the government cannot escape from its responsibility.
In a statement issued here, Akhilesh said that lakhs of people stuck in traffic jams on the way to Prayagraj Maha Kumbh are imprisoned in their vehicles for hours. “There is no place even for women for daily needs. There is no arrangement to take care of those who are fainting on the roads. The battery of the mobile phones of the devotees has run out, due to which they have lost contact with their people. There is a lot of restlessness among the people due to lack of contact and information,” he said.
He said that no responsible minister or person is visible to control the situation. “The Chief Minister has proved to be a complete failure, along with this the Deputy CM and many well-known ministers related to Prayagraj are missing. Those who should have been among the public are sitting in their homes,” he said.
The SP chief said, “There is no arrangement for food and water for the constables, class four employees or sanitation workers who are standing day and night faithfully hungry and thirsty. Officials are giving orders sitting in rooms but are not coming down on the ground.”
He said that on the occasion of Maha Kumbh, vehicles should be made toll free in UP. “This will reduce the hindrance to travel and also the problem of traffic jams. When films can be made entertainment tax free, then why not vehicles tax free on the great festival of Maha Kumbh,” he said.
Akhilesh said that due to traffic jam all around in Prayagraj, neither food grains and vegetables are available for eating nor medicines, petrol-diesel. “Due to this, the condition of crores of hungry, thirsty, tired devotees stuck in Prayagraj and Maha Kumbh premises and on the roads leading to Prayagraj is getting worse every hour. This is a very serious situation,” he said.
He said that the residents of Prayagraj have got nothing except dirt, traffic jam and inflation. “It has been heard that now the BJP people are accusing the devotees that when they know that bad arrangements have spread everywhere, then why are the devotees coming. Some people are leaving the victims of the accident in their state to fend for themselves and are attending ceremonies in other states. Some are going abroad,” he said.
He said that just as when the constitutional system fails in states, the command is given to someone else, similarly, in view of the chaos in Maha Kumbh, the command of governance should be given to some capable person or the army should be entrusted with the management.
The SP chief said, “Unqualified people can spread false propaganda, but not smooth management. Emergency arrangements should be made for all the devotees trapped in Maha Kumbh. The hungry, thirsty and tired pilgrims stuck in traffic jams on all sides should be treated with humanity.”
