Maha Kumbh tragedy: Karnataka tour operators face 25-30% cancellations

Devotees cross pontoon bridges during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday.

Following the recent tragedy at Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj which claimed 30 lives including those of four people from Belagavi, devotees from Karnataka are thinking twice before making their journey there. A few private tour operators who offer Kumbh Mela packages said that they received cancellation requests from at least 25 – 30% of their customers who booked under the package.

Tour operators are offering packages from anywhere between ₹30,000 – ₹1.5 lakh depending on the mode of transport, food, and accommodation. With the flight fare to Prayagraj (one-way) costing around ₹30,000 – ₹40,000 many are also choosing to go by train or fly to different places like Varanasi or Lucknow and then go by road.

“We had received a lot of bookings from across Karnataka as we have pick-up points in quite a few districts including Bengaluru. After the recent tragedy, we are getting a lot of calls asking for cancellation or allotment of a different tour package. They do not want to lose the money spent on flight tickets, so they are asking if they can visit other places after flying there. Around 25% of customers have such queries,” said an employee of Shiva Tours and Travels which operates across the State. 

Another prominent tour operator in the city said that devotees were asking if postponement was possible. “After seeing videos on social media and television, people are hesitant to go there at least for the next 5-10 days. Some of them are asking if they can postpone the dates and go there when the crowd thins out,” Lavanya, a tour manager said.

Apart from crowds, another concern shown by devotees is accommodation in the Mela premises.

“We heard from those who traveled before us that the tents there could sometimes be not what they show in pictures. Our original plan was to travel to Varanasi and board a bus from there to Prayagraj. We heard that even that has become difficult now as there are not enough buses. Now we have decided to fly to Varanasi as per our plan, then go to Prayagraj if possible, and if not possible, then we will take a dip in the Ganga River in Varanasi itself,” said Meena Surendar, a resident of North Bengaluru. 

Despite these developments, many are choosing to brave the crowds and the conditions and travel to Prayagraj as it is a rare occurrence. “We are getting more requests than we can accommodate. A batch of 33 people are leaving this weekend while another 33 are waiting for the next batch,” said Ashwini, a tour operator from the city.