CRAMMED

Stampede Blamed on ‘Overcrowding’

Thirty-six killed in India after Kumbh Mela festival.

Indian officials said Monday that overcrowding was to blame for a deadly stampede a day earlier that killed 36 at a train station during the Kumbh Mela festival. The railway minister insisted “adequate arrangements” had been made for the festival, but too many people had crammed onto the platform, causing the stampede. At least 39 others were injured, and officials said many of the victims were women and children. Additional trains will be run Monday to get some of the people out of Allahabad, where the festival is taking place. The event, held every 12 years, is expected to bring 100 million bathers to the Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. The head of organizing the festival resigned, saying he was stepping down on “moral grounds.”