A massive fire broke out in Prayagraj Mahakumbh Mela area on Sunday. This fire broke out in the camp of Akhil Bharatiya Dharma Sangh Geeta Press Gorakhpur in Sector-19 and spread all around from here. It is fortunate that there was no loss of life in this. However, many tents and the items kept in them were burnt to ashes in the fire. The exact cause of the fire has not been revealed yet. Meanwhile, the trustee of Geeta Press has claimed that something incendiary was thrown from outside due to which the camp caught fire.
‘Someone threw fire from outside’
Geeta Press trustee Krishna Kumar Khemkar said, ‘These camps have been jointly organized by All India Religious Association and Geeta Press. About 180 camps were set up. We are maintaining great caution and everyone has been prohibited from doing any work related to fire.
He told, ‘Where we have established the boundary, towards the west, that side was declared a circulating area where people will take bath in the Ganga. From that side something of fire came towards us and then the spark gradually took the form of a big fire and all our camps were destroyed. Nothing left. By the grace of God there was no loss of life. Goods worth crores were lost.
Fire spread due to cylinder explosion
On the question of cylinder bursting, he said, ‘Our kitchen was of a tin shed. We took full precautions. Actually, according to initial information, first a cylinder caught fire and then it spread. After the fire took a huge form, several explosions took place one after the other in cylinders kept in different tents. Information about blast in about eight to nine cylinders has come to light. However, the fire brigade staff brought the fire under control after a lot of effort.
Claim of burning of about 250 tents
An eyewitness present in the Mahakumbh Mela area claimed that around 250 tents were burnt to ashes in the fire. The flames were very high. There was a fire in a very large area. About 250 tents were burnt to ashes in the fire. NDRF DIG MK Sharma said, ‘All the teams present here worked together and the fire was brought under control. Four teams of NDRF are deployed here.
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