12 dead in stampedes as Hindus gather 

12 dead in stampedes as Hindus gather

ALLAHABAD, India, Feb 10, 2013 (Menafn - UPI via COMTEX) --At least 12 people died in stampedes as 30 million Hindus gathered at India's Ganges and Yamuna rivers Sunday to cleanse their sins, officials said.

The gathering was the most auspicious of the six bathing days of the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage in which people gather where the two rivers meet, the BBC reported.

Sector 12 Magistrate Abhay Raj said a woman from Varanasi and a man from West Bengal died, and a few people received minor injuries when one stampede broke out as devotees exited the river banks, the Press Trust of India reported.

A second stampede at a railroad station killed at least 10 people, railway spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena said, as quoted by CNN.

The Kumbh Mela spans 55 days and happens once every six years. This event also marks the rare Maha Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, which only takes place once every 144 years. The timing of these gatherings is determined by astrology.

Devotees said the bathing helps bring salvation.

"When I bathe I am praying to God for the good of my country and the world," pharmacy student Ashutosh Pandey told the BBC.

More than 14,000 policemen, paramilitary forces and commandos were deployed to the area Sunday to ensure security to the 18 main bathing places along the rivers, the BBC reported.

Fourteen nearby hospitals had treated more than 150,000 pilgrims since they began gathering in the area Saturday.

Many suffered from respiratory problems, cold, joint pains and dust allergies, Dr. Kalim Aqmal told the television broadcaster.

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