Yogi Adityanath-led UP government was left red faced after a stampede at Kumbh Mela, a widely publicised event by the BJP, left at least 30 dead and over 60 injured.

Prayagraj: The Uttar Pradesh government has invoked strict measures in Prayagraj a day after a stampede took place in the Maha Kumbh Mela.

More than seven people were killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian holy city of Prayagraj on Wednesday.

Hindu devotees and mystics have gathered in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth.

Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.

By Adnan Abidi and Saurabh Sharma PRAYAGRAJ (Reuters) -Several people were feared dead after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival in north India's Uttar Pradesh State on Wednesday,

A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

The Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years at Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganges (Ganga), Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Hindus believe that bathing in the sacred waters will cleanse them of sins and help them attain salvation.