Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Mela and melee: On the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 and public safety

Mela and melee: On the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 and public safety

People’s safety should be prioritised over footfall at Maha Kumbh

The Maha Kumbh Mela that is ongoing (जारी, प्रगति पर) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, has showcased (प्रदर्शित करना, दिखाना) the gaping maw (a greedy person’s (or voracious animal’s) big mouth (which swallows things up completely)) between the Centre’s and the State’s plans for such a large event and what they believe are sufficient resources to conduct it. Ahead of the mela, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and their cabinet colleagues had touted (endorse, praise, recommend, commend, speak of, urge) the special arrangements made for the mela, including a surveillance (निगरानी, गुप्त निरीक्षण) system equipped with artificial intelligence (कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता) to track crowds, water filters to keep the rivers clean, a makeshift (अस्थायी, आपातकालीन) town replete with (भरा हुआ, लबालब) hospitals and special-purpose trains and buses. But they have not sufficed (पर्याप्त होना, काफी होना). There have been numerous (अनेक, असंख्य) reports of people being frustrated at the venue and during journeys to and from (a continuous movement in two and opposite directions) there. The mela’s under-management, simmering (burn, fume, rage, smoulder) just below the surface, was transformed to outright (पूर्णतः, स्पष्ट रूप से) mismanagement by the deaths of people in a crowd crush on January 29, 2025. The confused response by the Indian Railways to another crush at the New Delhi railway station, on February 15, 2025, indicated the Centre’s unwillingness (अनिच्छा, हिचकिचाहट) to countenance (सहमति देना, स्वीकार करना) the disaster, on the back of an expense of ₹7,500 crore for the mela and its various hi-tech preparations. Such preparations, however, cannot make up for (क्षतिपूर्ति करना, पूरा करना) changes that need to be made over time (समय के साथ, धीरे-धीरे), such as redeveloping a local railway station.

Officials were reluctant (अनिच्छुक, हिचकिचाने वाला) to confirm that people had died even as local hospitals were confirming deaths. In one particularly unfair (biased, intolerant, unreasonable, unjustifiable) statement, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) blamed “unnecessary” rush at the New Delhi railway station for the “catastrophe (आपदा, विपत्ति, महाविनाश)”. The consensus (an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence, general opinion/view, common consent) among fire safety experts worldwide is that such events occur when there is external cause (reason, grounds, basis, motive) for a group to panic (be scared, be afraid, be nervous), whether lacking (be without, be deficient in, require, want) the money to buy another ticket should they miss a train or suffering injuries due to (because of, as a result of, thanks to, on account of, owing to) unsafe pedestrian (walker, foot traveller) conditions. A preliminary probe revealed that the Railways had sold 2,600 additional tickets, and an announcement at the station of the arrival of a different train rendered (make, cause to be/become) this confused mass of passengers to attempt to reach the wrong platform. The Railways has now said that special trains for the mela will depart from one fixed platform at the station. Such interventions (the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference) that are already well known to experts — including clear, multilingual (using several languages) communications, restricted ticketing, and proactive (energetic, motivated, farsighted, cautious, careful) crowd control — could have mitigated (reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen, relieve, assuage, alleviate, allay, temper, moderate) the tragedy. Many less prominent gathering places still lack attention (observation, attentiveness, notice, scrutiny, consideration, care) vis-à-vis public safety. Both the Centre and States should eliminate these risks, post-haste (as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, without delay, ASAP), if the Centre’s plans to increase footfall at places of worship are not to lead to (result in, cause, bring on/bring about) more catastrophe. While encouraging spiritual tourism, the hype (publicity, promotion, build-up) around hosting (have) 45 crore people at the Maha Kumbh Mela, absurdly (to a very surprising extent; unreasonably, illogically, irrationally, absolutely, entirely, totally, shockingly, foolishly) impossible as it sounds (appear, look, seem), should be toned down so as not to (in order not to) feed a political frenzy (madness, wildness, insanity, uncontrolled excitement/behaviour). The governments must be careful that the cost of fulfilling political aspirations is not paid for in terms of (regarding, concerning, with regard to, with reference to, in the matter of, in connection with) human lives.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.ongoing (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जारी, प्रगति पर
English Meaning - in progress, under way, going on, continuing, happening, taking place.

2.showcase (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रदर्शित करना, दिखाना
English Meaning - show, reveal, exhibit, display.

3.surveillance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निगरानी, गुप्त निरीक्षण
English Meaning - monitoring, observation, scrutiny, inspection.

4.artificial intelligence (AI) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता
English Meaning - an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence.

5.makeshift (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थायी, आपातकालीन
English Meaning - temporary, provisional, standby, substitute, emergency, ad hoc.

6.replete with (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भरा हुआ, लबालब
English Meaning - filled with, overloaded, well supplied/stocked with.

7.suffice (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पर्याप्त होना, काफी होना
English Meaning - be enough, be sufficient, be adequate.

8.numerous (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनेक, असंख्य
English Meaning - a lot of, many, several, various.

9.outright (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्णतः, स्पष्ट रूप से
English Meaning - out-and-out, complete, utter, categorical, unequivocal, undeniable

10.unwillingness (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनिच्छा, हिचकिचाहट
English Meaning - reluctance, disinclination, hesitation.

11.countenance (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सहमति देना, स्वीकार करना
English Meaning - agree, admit (as acceptable/possible).

12.make up for (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - क्षतिपूर्ति करना, पूरा करना
English Meaning - to do something as a method of correcting/improving something else.

13.over time (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - समय के साथ, धीरे-धीरे
English Meaning - if something happens over time, it happens gradually during a long period of time.

14.reluctant (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिच्छुक, हिचकिचाने वाला
English Meaning - unwilling, hesitant, resistant, averse, disinclined.

15.catastrophe (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आपदा, विपत्ति, महाविनाश
English Meaning - disaster, devastation, calamity, crisis, tragedy.

16.melee (noun)

English Meaning - a situation in which a lot of people rushing and pushing one another in a confused way; a confused hand-to-hand fight/struggle involving a large number of people.

17.Kumbh Mela (noun)

English Meaning - The Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest religious gathering, is a festival of immense spiritual and cultural significance. It is celebrated in rotation across four cities in India: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar. Each site corresponds to a point where, according to mythology, drops of amrita (the nectar of immortality) fell during a celestial battle between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons). It is celebrated approximately every 6 years (Ardh Kumbh), 12 years (Poorna Kumbh), and 144 years (Maha Kumbh). The main ritual of Kumbh or Maha Kumbh is snan (ritual bathing), which signifies cleansing or purification.

18.footfall (noun)

English Meaning - the number of people entering an area in a given time.

19.gaping maw (noun)

English Meaning - a greedy person’s (or voracious animal’s) big mouth (which swallows things up completely).

20.in terms of (phrase)

English Meaning - regarding, concerning, with regard to, with reference to, in the matter of, in connection with.

21.maw (noun)

English Meaning - the mouth of a voracious animal; a big mouth.

22.tout (verb)

English Meaning - endorse, praise, recommend, commend, speak of, urge.

23.to and from (phrase)

English Meaning - a continuous movement in two and opposite directions.

24.simmer (verv)

English Meaning - burn, fume, rage, smoulder.

25.mismanagement (noun)

English Meaning - maladministration, misconduct, malpractice, dereliction, mishandling.

26.on the back of (phrase)

English Meaning - as a result of something that already exists or something you have already done.

27.unfair (adjective)

English Meaning - biased, intolerant, unreasonable, unjustifiable.

28.consensus (noun)

English Meaning - an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence, general opinion/view, common consent.

29.cause (noun)

English Meaning - reason, grounds, basis, motive.

30.panic (verb)

English Meaning - be scared, be afraid, be nervous.

31.lack (verb)

English Meaning - be without, be deficient in, require, want.

32.due to (phrase)

English Meaning - because of, as a result of, thanks to, on account of, owing to.

33.pedestrian (noun)

English Meaning - walker, foot traveller.

34.render (verb)

English Meaning - make, cause to be/become.

35.intervention (noun)

English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.

36.multilingual (adjective)

English Meaning - using several languages.

37.proactive (adjective)

English Meaning - energetic, motivated, farsighted, cautious, careful.

38.mitigate (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen, relieve, assuage, alleviate, allay, temper, moderate.

39.attention (noun)

English Meaning - observation, attentiveness, notice, scrutiny, consideration, care.

40.vis-à-vis (preposition)

English Meaning - concerning, with regard to, in relation to, as/in comparison with, in connection with (Vis-à-vis from Latin via. French, means literally “face-to-face).

41.post-haste (adverb)

English Meaning - as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, without delay, ASAP.

42.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on/bring about.

43.hype (noun)

English Meaning - publicity, promotion, build-up.

44.host (verb)

English Meaning - have.

45.absurdly (adverb)

English Meaning - to a very surprising extent; unreasonably, illogically, irrationally, absolutely, entirely, totally, shockingly, foolishly.

46.sound (verb)

English Meaning - appear, look, seem.