I saw my sister dying, no one helped, says Maha Kumbh stampede survivor

Kolkata: “My sister’s life ebbed away in front of my eyes,” Pushpa Saha said as she returned to Kolkata from Prayagraj on Thursday with tears rolling down her cheeks.

She and her sister Basanti Poddar, a 60-year-old resident of Golf Green in the city, had gone to take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion of Maha Kumbh. She came back home alone. So did Basanti’s son Surajit and daughter Pinki, who had also accompanied them on the pilgrimage. They all came back with the mortal remains of Basanti, who was among the victims of the deadly stampede that took place near the Triveni Sangam early on Wednesday.

“We were waiting in the queue to take the holy dip on the occasion of Mouni Amavashya,” Pushpa narrated the ordeal. “There was a sudden push from behind and we all fell. No one pulled us up, rather all were running over us. We tried to get up but couldn’t.”

Pushpa recalled how she had been pulled up by someone after a while. “But no one could help Basanti, who had died by then.”

She said that she had not seen any police personnel or officials of the administration managing the queue. They were not seen in the vicinity even after the incident for quite a long time.