The death of 19 people in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata has raised serious questions about crowd management and whether adequate arrangements were in place to handle the massive turnout.
The tragedy has also sparked concerns over possible lapses in coordination between the administration and the puja organisers at Chorbagan, one of the city's popular Durga Puja venues.
A Festival That Draws Millions
Every year during Durga Puja, Bengalis from across India and abroad return home to Kolkata to immerse themselves in the four-day festivities. Over the years, the celebration has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon, drawing visitors from around the world.
Few cities witness such a massive movement of people for a single festival. The scale of the celebrations can be gauged from the fact that the Kolkata Metro has, for several years, operated round the clock during Durga Puja to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of revellers travelling between pandals throughout the city.
Given the enormous footfall, crowd management remains one of the biggest challenges for organisers and the administration alike. Special measures are typically put in place each year to ensure smooth movement of visitors and to prevent untoward incidents.
Concerns Over Arrangements At Chorbagan
Narrow roads and densely packed crowds have long been a challenge at Chorbagan, where visitors are often drawn by elaborate themed displays. According to people associated with the puja, crowding at the venue has become unmanageable on several occasions in the past, forcing organisers to temporarily halt public entry for idol viewing.
However, prompt intervention by the police had previously helped bring the situation under control and avert any major mishaps. This year, those safeguards appear to have failed.
Several people connected with the puja believe that, apart from the organisers, there may also have been lapses on the part of the police. They pointed to a similar situation in 2018, when heavy crowds descended on Chorbagan soon after the inaugural ceremony, compounded by rainfall. At the time, police quickly altered the entry route to the pandal to ease congestion and prevent the situation from escalating.
Former Organiser Points To Change In Management
Jayanta Banerjee, former General Secretary of the puja committee, said he could not comment on whose lapse or mistake led to the tragedy because he was not involved in this year's arrangements.
Banerjee said he had been asked to step away from organising the puja after overseeing it for 12 years.
According to him, there had never been any need for physical confrontation during his tenure. He told NDTV that members of the newly formed committee were from outside the locality and claimed that a trained group of volunteers, who had previously assisted with crowd management, was not deployed this year.
Why Coordination Matters
According to government estimates, more than 45,000 community Durga Pujas are being organised across West Bengal this year, although the actual number is believed to be significantly higher.
With celebrations taking place in nearly every neighbourhood across the state, crowd management requires extensive planning and close coordination between police and organisers. For this reason, Kolkata Police traditionally holds meetings with puja committees about a month before the festival to discuss safety measures, crowd-control plans and logistical arrangements.
The incident at Chorbagan has renewed scrutiny of whether those mechanisms functioned effectively in this case.
NDTV visited several puja venues across Kolkata to understand what safety arrangements had been put in place this year.
In a narrow lane in the Nagerbazar area, organisers of a community puja described the crowd-control measures they use to minimise risks during the festivities.
Arnab Ghosh, secretary of the Dujo committee, said, "What happened at Chorbagan is unfortunate. In our own neighborhood, we also organise the Puja in a very limited space. To ensure that no untoward incidents occur, we have never opted for a 'theme-based' Puja, even though we have been celebrating it for the past 75 years. Those who organize large-scale theme-based Pujas are always advised to secure ample space and make appropriate arrangements. The police also play a significant role in this regard."
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