[Today’s Prayer] Attempting to hold a festival that draws 400 million people… Every time the festival is held, casualties occur

A tragedy occurred at a train station in India where 18 people were crushed to death due to a large crowd.

On the 16th (local time), Hindustan Times and other media reported that the stampede occurred at around 8:00 PM the previous day on the platform of the New Delhi train station as passengers tried to board a train bound for Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Footage from the scene released by India's largest news agency PTI shows thousands of people crammed into the train station. In particular, the area near the platforms was so crowded that there was no room to stand. Scenes were also captured of passengers arguing and fighting among themselves as people continued to push their way into the already full train.

Local police said the accident occurred when passengers waiting for two delayed trains on platforms 12 and 13 rushed to platform 14 when an express train to Prayagraj arrived.

Authorities said at least 18 people, including five children, were killed in the stampede, and more than a dozen were injured.

After the accident, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his condolences on X ( formerly Twitter), saying, "The loss of life due to the stampede is extremely painful." He added, "My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. The authorities will provide support to all those affected."

Ashwini Vaishnau has ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the stampede. He also said, "Four special trains have been deployed to decongest the station. The situation is under control."

Local media reported that many of the passengers were likely heading to Prayagraj, where a Hindu festival is held.

Prayagraj is where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, sacred to Hindus, meet, and the world's largest religious festival, the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela, has been held since the 13th of last month . The Kumbh

Mela, held every 12 years and lasting for six weeks, attracts 400 million people during the festival period. Festivalgoers perform a ritual to wash away their sins by immersing themselves in the river.

Source: News

Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. (1 Corinthians 4:15)

We hear that 18 people have been killed in a stampede on a train platform in New Delhi, India, as passengers rush to attend the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious festival.

We ask that You comfort those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy, and grant those who will share the gospel with them that they may come to know the true God who leads to life.

God, we pray that the Hindu influence that holds the people of India captive will be broken and they will be renewed by the gospel, so that your kingdom may reign.

May the Lord forgive the foolishness of the Indian people, who have died in the vain belief that they can wash away their sins by immersion in rivers in order to be saved, and may they come and repent before the throne of grace, where their sins have already been washed away by the blood of the cross.

May the world church send forth those who, like St. Paul, will embrace the Indian people and rejoice in their liberation by the Gospel, and may the lies of Hinduism, which have claimed the lives of the Indian people, crumble before the truth of Jesus Christ every time the Gospel is preached!

With the concern and prayers of the world church, may You anoint the Church of India with Your Holy Spirit to be a church that sends out missionaries to unreached peoples at home and abroad, witnessing to the love of the cross to all nations!

Revive the churches in India with the gospel of the cross and allow them to focus on fulfilling the vision of one million missionaries in India!

And so, let the nation of Indian see the day when it will send out missionaries to all nations, holding the hands of all nations and coming joyfully before You until You return!