Heavy rains overnight led to the collapse of a huge wall in Har ki Pauri on the banks of the Ganga in the early hours of Tuesday.
The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. but no one was injured, additional Mela officials Lalit Narayan Mishra and Harbir Singh said after investigating the location on Tuesday morning.
Residents were amazed to see a huge pile of rubble near Brahmakund near Har Ki Pauri when they woke up, and it is suspected that the wall collapse apparently either from lightning or from digging a nearby street to lay underground Power cables was caused.
Ascetics and seers reacted angrily to the incident, which they believed should not have happened at a time when the state was preparing for Kumbh 2021 in Haridwar.
The president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Narendra Giri, said: “Har ki Pairi is a national heritage and it is our collective responsibility to preserve it. The state government should repair and beautify it immediately.”
Jairam Ashram paramadhyaksha Swami Brahmaswaroop Brahmachari and Swami Harichetnanand Maharaj complained that things are done in Haridwar in a very unplanned way, which could lead to a major accident in the future.
They advised the administration to examine the entire Har ki Pairi area from a security perspective and to carry out the necessary repair work wherever necessary.
Teerth Purohit Pandit Ashutosh Sharma said the wall that collapsed was built in 1935.