Bageshwar Dham Chief urges devotees at Mahakumbh to take holy dips from respective locations

Further, he said that the stampede incident was heart-wrenching and appealed to the devotees to stay patient.

Speaking to ANI, Shastri said, "I circulated a video message last night urging devotees to take a holy dip wherever they are. Crores of devotees have gathered here and the administration is doing everything possible."

"The incident that took place last night was heart-wrenching, I just want to say that the devotees should remain patient. There is still a very long time for the Mahakumbh Mela to come to an end. They can complete their rituals and activities in sometime after the situations are normal. The Akharas and saints have also decided that they would take a dip in the evening so that the devotees do not face any difficulties..." he further added.

This comes after a stampede-like situation arose at Mahakumbh in the early hours of Wednesday, resulting in several injuries.

The incident occurred as millions of devotees gathered at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to take a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, which also marks the day of the Second Shahi Snan.

Meanwhile, Himachal CM Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the stampede, according to an official statement from the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

The CMO further cited CM Sukhu as saying that he expressed deep sorrow over the stampede that took place in the early hours of the morning at Mahakumbh.

The statement added that, he also prayed to the Almighty for peace for the departed souls and strength for the bereaved families to endure this irreparable loss.