Not just the threat of terrorist attack looming large over Ardh Kumbh Mela beginning on January 1, but the threat of the wild beasts straying into the sprawling mela area is giving sleepless nights to the mela officials here. Not only herds of elephants and monkeys, even crocodiles have darted their entry right into the mela area along the Ganga river bed.
The spotting of a crocodile on Tuesday evening at Neel Dhara stretch of Ganga has prodded the officials to think of measures to ensure safety of the pilgrims. Confronting these threats from the wild, the administration has given directions to the forest department to take adequate measures to prevent the beastly menace in the demarcated mela ground.
At crowded places, monkeys can cause nuisance. However, if elephants or crocodiles are spotted things can toss for terrible mess that can even cause stampede. Taking a meeting at the mela control room, Mela Adhikari S A Murgesan directed the forest officials to take measures to stop their entry into the mela zone. He also released funds to buy necessary equipment to trap the wild beasts.
Speaking to ‘The Pioneer’, Mela DIG G S Martolia said, “We have earlier also faced the terror of elephants during the Kumbh mela. The forest department has been asked to take safety measures so as to spare the teeming pilgrims the terror from the wild. The spotting of the crocodile must be verified by the forest department team and then we would move to stop the people from going to that river stretch for bathing. Ample measures have to be taken by the forest team to check wildlife straying into Ganga riverbed.”
According to witnesses, an infant crocodile was spotted late afternoon on Tuesday in the Neel Dhara stretch on the stone-strewn river bank while the reptile was crawling towards the river to slake its thirst. In all, four crocodiles have been spotted in the past few days by the residents near Chandighat area which come out on the banks to warm themselves in the sun during the day time.
With the directions being given and alarms sounded, the question is how far the mela administration would counter the threat from the wild and spare the pilgrims the terror of encountering the wild. “The threat from the wild is as serious as that from the terrorists. Both these threats should be considered seriously,” says an observer.