Prayagraj : A viral three-storey ashram, estimated to be 40–50 feet high and built in the middle of the Ganga over nearly two decades, collapsed late Friday evening after erosion around its foundation weakened the structure, leaving one disciple missing and another injured.
However, 40-year-old Harish Singh remains untraceable, as the strong current of the Ganga is hampering the search efforts. The incident occurred around 7 pm at the ashram of Swami Bajrang Das in Bela Sailabi Kachhar, around 2 km from Badra Sanauti village.
If there is a clear mandate that no one can construct anything on the banks of the Ganga, how did a seer construct a three-storey building right in the middle of the river?” he said. Prayagraj Police, along with Jal Police personnel and an NDRF team, have been conducting extensive search operations since Saturday morning. The collapse has also raised questions about how such a large structure was allowed to come up in the middle of the Ganga. Swami Hari Chaitanya of Tikar Mafi Ashram questioned the circumstances that led to the incident. “We were surprised why no one tried to stop the construction in its early stage; now, who is responsible for the disciple who is missing?
The seer had left the building a couple of days earlier. Several prominent seers, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed they had earlier raised objections to the construction with the authorities, but their concerns were not acted upon. On Friday evening, three disciples—Harish Singh and Sandeep Nishad, both residents of Kotwa, and Sonu Pandit of Naini—had entered the structure to retrieve their belongings when it suddenly collapsed.