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Amidst criticism of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks on Prayagraj’s Mahakumbh, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj supported the CM, saying that the religious event has been mismanaged.
The Shankaracharya’s comments have left the Godi media red-faced which has played down the deaths and the NGT report on water quality at Triveni Sangam.
“There was a traffic jam of 300 kilometres, if this is not mismanagement then what is? People had to walk 25-30 km with their luggage. The water coming for bathing is mixed with sewage water and the scientists don’t consider it fit for bathing. Yet you are forcing crores of people to bathe in it,” the spiritual leader told ANI.
He was referring to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) report of January 12-13, which said that the river quality did not meet the bathing criteria for most locations.
“Your job was to either stop the drains for a few days or divert them so that people could get pure water while bathing. You knew 12 years ago that Kumbh would come, then why did you not make any efforts in this regard?” the leader questioned.
Talking about the Mahakumbh stampede at Mauni Amavasya, he alleged that the government also tried to hide the total number of deaths.
“Crowd management and hospitality principles were not followed. Even when people died, they tried to hide it, which was a grave crime. In such a situation, if someone calls it names, then we won’t be able to oppose it,” he added.
