Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Monday, attacked the Uttar Pradesh government and the administration over the massive traffic jams on roads leading to the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
He said that due to the traffic jams, the supply of basic facilities such as food grains and vegetables had come to a halt, adding to the woes of the devotees participating in the Maha Kumbh and also the residents of Prayagraj.
In a post on X, Yadav said that crores of people were hungry, thirsty and tired as they were stuck in Prayagraj, calling the situation “extremely serious”.
“Due to traffic jams everywhere in Prayagraj, neither food grains, vegetables, spices are available nor medicines, and petrol-diesel. Due to this, the condition of crores of hungry, thirsty, tired and exhausted 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 also posted a video with the post in which people are sharing their experiences and pointing out the chaos.
Yadav also wondered to whom the reins of Maha Kumbh should be handed over while calling the current government and administration incompetent in easing the situation for people.
“Just as the command is handed over to someone else when the constitutional system fails in states, seeing the heap of mismanagement at the Maha Kumbh, to which competent person should the reins of governance be handed over? Incompetent people can do false propaganda, not true administration,” he said.
Hitting out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav alleged that no responsible minister or person is seen controlling the situation in Prayagraj.
The chief minister has proved to be a “complete failure”, along with this the deputy chief minister while many well-known ministers related to Prayagraj are missing, the SP chief said.
In a follow-up post, Yadav highlighted the misery of the Maha Kumbh devotees, claiming that there is no one to tend to people who have fallen unconscious due to lack of facilities. Painting a sorry picture of the woes of Maha Kumbh devotees, he said that the batteries of people’s mobile phones had discharged due to which they had lost contact with their loved ones, adding to their anxieties.
He also emphasised on the lack of facilities for the staff working on ground at the Maha Kumbh. “There is no arrangement for food and water for the constables, fourth class employees and sanitation workers who are faithfully standing hungry and thirsty day and night. The officers are giving orders sitting in their rooms but are not coming down to the ground,” he said.
Yadav’s remarks come amid traffic jams, allegedly stretching up to 200-300 kilometres, clogging the city of Prayagraj. The traffic includes vehicles of devotees heading to attend the Maha Kumbh via Madhya Pradesh, who are now stuck in their cars. Some people have called the traffic jam “probably the biggest in the world” while sharing their ordeal on social media.
“It is impossible to move towards Prayagraj today as there is a traffic jam of 200-300 kilometres,” the SP chief said.