New Delhi, March 4 -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that his government acted swiftly to control the situation after a stampede at the Mahakumbh and did not allow the incident to be highlighted "as it could have caused panic" among crores of devotees present at the site that day.

Adityanath's comments come a month after at least 30 people died in the stampede in Prayagraj. Adityanath also dismissed claims based on a Central Pollution Control Board report (CPCB) about high levels of faecal coliform in water samples taken at the Mahakumbh.

"The crowd is like water current in a river. whenever an attempt is made to stop the current, it will either force its way out or spread and cause damage. This happened that nigh...