- Tuesday, April 22, 2025
The chief minister claimed that the Mahara family has 130 boats and they totally earned £2.67million during the 45-day-long festival
By: India Weekly
AFTER the recently-concluded Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath cited the ‘success story’ of a boatman Pintu Mahara in the assembly on Tuesday (4) and claimed that his fleet totally earned ₹300 million (£2.67m) during the 45-day-long festival.
Adityanath said this while countering the claims made by the opposition Samajwadi Party that the boatmen of Prayagraj were “exploited”.
The chief minister claimed that the Mahara family has 130 boats, and each boat has earned ₹2.3 million in 45 days or ₹50,000-52,000 a day.
The Uttar Pradesh government later issued a statement sharing details about Mahara’s success story and lauded him for taking bold business decisions before the mela.
“Anticipating a massive influx of devotees, he expanded his fleet from 60 to 130 boats ahead of the Maha Kumbh,” reads the statement.
“This strategic move proved highly rewarding, ensuring substantial earnings and securing his family’s future for generations,” the statement added.
The statement did not give other details including the cost incurred on purchasing the boat and the daily cost of running one boat.
This brought the boatman’s into close scrutiny on the social media and many publications rushed to profile the enterprising boatman.
However, all through the festival there were numerous social media posts alleging that the boatmen at the festival venue of Sangam were charging exorbitant fares.
Though the Mela Authority had fixed the maximum fare at ₹120-150 per person, many social media users claimed the boatmen were charging ₹2,000-3,000 per person.
Once the news of Mahara broke out, many social media users wondered whether the goods and services tax (GST) would be levied on his windfall earnings.
Crime record
It also came to light that Mahara has a criminal past.
According to some media reports there are several criminal cases booked against him, including murder and attempt to murder.
He is also accused of the heinous double murder that took place in 2009.
Probe demanded
The opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, have demanded a probe into the claims and also alleged that the boatman had a criminal background.
In a post on X in Hindi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said, “The truth of this news should be investigated. If a family has really earned ₹300 million in the Maha Kumbh alone, then tell how much GST was received. ‘Paatalkhoji’ should first find out and then glorify.”
“First signed an MoU with a thug, now praised the name of the accused in the House with closed eyes. Now open your eyes. Due to all these reasons, the morale of criminals is high in the BJP government,” the former chief minister said.
Yadav also shared a news clip alleging that Mahara had a criminal background.
UP Congress chief Ajay Rai also questioned how one family could amass such wealth by ferrying devotees during the 45-day Maha Kumbh.
“Even if you forget the criminal record for a moment, the question to be asked is if GST and other taxes were paid on the income that was revealed in the UP assembly by the CM? Moreover, if the income details provided in the assembly are correct, doesn’t it show that the devotees were fleeced because such a profit couldn’t have been made on government prescribed rate,” Rai told PTI.
Later in a post on X, Rai said, “The history sheet of the boatman praised by Yogi Adityanath in the House has been exposed to the country. But, in that story, the chief minister himself revealed the truth of black marketing through his own figures.” (PTI)
