Thiruvananthapuram: When Maha Kumbh Mela was marred with stampedes, fires, vandalism of public property, death, pollution, traffic jams, etc., Union minister Suresh Gopi claims it is a textbook example of how to conduct an event.
The Maha Kumbh Mela, which started in Prayagraj on January 13 and ended 26th February, had witnessed many untoward and unfortunate incidents, which were widely perceived as due to blatant mismanagement by the state administration. There were multiple incidents of massive fires and related damages, a 300 km long traffic jam and multiple incidents of trains getting vandalized.
Due to the humongous numbers of pilgrims, the infrastructure for their travel was far away from enough. Due to a lack of options for comfortable mobility, trains were overcrowded, and many who tried to enter trains but failed vandalized AC coaches of multiple trains in separate incidents. Similarly, another crowd at the New Delhi railway station ended up in a stampede that killed 18 people and injured many. There were multiple incidents of huge fires, and it was only fortunate that nobody lived their lives. However, a stampede on Mauni Amavasya, a special night during the Maha Kumbh pilgrimage, claimed 30 lives and injured scores. Controversy is burning high regarding the pollution caused by poor sanitation facilities in Prayagraj. The water at the various ghats where a holy dip is performed was found to have harmful levels of pollutants, which the UP government and Chief Minister Adityanath dismissed outright.
Considering all these, what minister Suresh Gopi claimed seems curious.
The Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Gopi, claimed that people who are mocking Uttar Pradesh’s GDP are now left with wonder.
He continued that those who row boats in Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh Mela took place this year, earned Rs 30 crores in 60 days. Everyone was reverentially taking the holly dip of the Ganga during the pilgrimage at Triveni Sangam, and each of them must have spent at least Rs 1,000/-, contributing to Uttar Pradesh’s GDP. The rise in the state’s GDP contributes to the country's GDP as well, the MP from Kerala’s Thrissur claimed. Praising the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state, Gopi asked what else should a government should provide to its people.
He went on to say that the country's people’s meals will be out of a share of this GDP contribution, and therefore, those disrespecting the event must have shame, at least in their DNAs.