Megha thought Kumbh was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and she didn’t want to miss it

Megha Hattarwath was to be married in March this year, according to her father
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Megha Hattarwath, the young victim of Wednesday’s Maha Kumbh stampede in Prayagraj, had warned viewers of the huge crowds during the event, a few days before her death.

Maggi, as she was called by her friends, had made reels about her experience in Prayagraj on Tuesday. She warned viewers of very huge crowds and all-round confusion at the Kumbh site. She asked people to be very, very careful.

She reached Prayagraj on Monday after leaving with her mother and 55 others from Belagavi the previous day.

She made a few reels along the way and also, on reaching the Kumbh site. The reels that she made on Tuesday were to be her last. They were uploaded at around midnight. She died a few hours later.

Megha was an employee of a private company in Belagavi. She was to be married in March.

Her father Deepak Hattarwath, a government servant, had fixed her marriage with the son of his old acquaintance.

She had insisted that Maha Kumbh was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and that she could not afford to miss it, Deepak Hattarwath recalled.

Arun Koparde is seen waving to the camera in one of Megha Hattarwath’s last reels
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Arun Koparde, who is seen waving to the camera in Megha’s reels, also died in the stampede. His wife Kanchana, who has suffered injuries, is under treatment in a private hospital in Prayagraj. His family members are yet to break the news of Arun’s death to his octogenarian mother.

Intelligence Department officers Hariram Shankar, Jaykant Jadhva, Y.N. Nimbargi and Zaheer Mokashi accompanied the bodies from Prayagraj.

Along with Nodal Officer Harshal Boyar, Mr. Shankar, N. Shruti and Harsha Shetty coordinated the efforts. They had all flown to Uttar Pradesh following the news of the deaths.

The bodies were brought by road to New Delhi where the procedure of embalming was done. The caskets were wrapped in all-weather material and loaded onto aircraft.

Two sets of relatives accompanied the bodies on two different flights. Airlifting was done on two aircraft due to limitations of cargo and time schedules, a police officer said.