Once bitten never shy: This is how UP govt posted IAS officer in Kumbh

Lucknow: There are strange ways of Yogi government. The officer who was blamed and removed for being responsible for an incident of stampede in which 25 persons were killed has been given even bigger assignment of the same nature.

Vijay Kiran Anand, the 2009-batch IAS officer has been made Mela Officer of biggest religious fair of Kumbh to take place next year at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati, in Allahabad.

His appointment has raised a few eyebrows as Anand was the same officer who was removed as District Magistrate of Varanasi following stampede incident in October, 2016 and a probe report, though not made public, had held him also responsible.

The magnitude of footfall in the Kumbh is such that on a single day on Mauni Amavasya, an estimated crowd of thirty million is expected beside lakhs of devotees being present everyday. Now the question is being asked if the officer, failed in one particular related task, will be able to pull off his assignment which is majorly based on the crowd management mechanism.

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Vijay Kiran Anand, said to be close to previous Akhilesh Yadav government, was on the receiving end following his way of functioning in Panchayati Raj department during his last posting.

It may be recalled that the biggest religious conglomeration of Kumbh will go underway next year but massive preparations are afoot and officers have already been posted.