Kolkata, Feb 18 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government's planning for Maha Kumbh and dubbed it as "Mrityu Kumbh" (death trap) over recent deaths in stampedes andother accidents in relation to the religious congregation at Prayagraj.

Addressing the state Assembly, Banerjee referred to the arrangements made by the UP government for the Maha Kumbh, and said the congregation turned into a " Mrityu Kumbh".
However, she hastened to add: " though I respect the Maha Kumbh".
She also alleged that the number of deaths was not clear and slammed the UP administration for making special arrangements against premium prices and "neglecting" the poor pilgrims.
Banerjee reiterated that whilst VIPs were being given special privileges, the poor people were being denied access to essential facilities. "Why is there a special site for the holy dip?" she asked, wondering where the amount received from the special arrangements made in exchange for premium prices has gone.
She questioned the planning of the UP government and why the Maha Kumbh was hyped so much.
Banerjee accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of "selling religion to divide the nation" and blamed a "lack of proper planning" for the mishaps.
"This is a veritable 'Mrityu Kumbh'. I respect Maha Kumbh, and I respect the holy Ganga Maa. But there is no planning. How many people have been rescued? For the rich and VIPs, there are systems in place to get camps at high prices but for the poor, there are no arrangements at Kumbh," Banerjee said.
She also questioned the state of the administration in UP, while pointing to several bodies of victims arriving without any post-mortem and death certificate.
" When we came to power in 2011 there was a fire in a hospital where over 110 people died and we did all post mortem the same night and issued a death certificate and handed over compensation and jobs to the victims' families," Banerjee said.
"We also organise Gangasagar Mela every year and arrangements are done and supervised by me for over six months. I depute four cabinet ministers for the safe return of the pilgrims," the Bengal CM said. "We don't allow any VIPs during Gangasagar Mela," she said. UNI PC SSP