The Puja committee at stampede-hit Chorebagan was formed twice within a month with several members resigning to make way for new entrants, including several people associated with the BJP, multiple members of the old committee said.
The new members included Bijay Ojha, the Jorasanko MLA from the BJP; Debdeep Adhikari, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s nephew; and Tamaghna Ghosh, the party’s north Calcutta district president.
Even the khuti puja was held twice within a month, once by the old committee and again by the new one, members of the old committee said.
Seven people, including four members of the new Puja committee, have been arrested following Saturday’s stampede that killed 19 people. But none of the BJP heavyweights has been touched.
Local people and survivors have blamed the stampede on poor arrangements and abysmal crowd control, such as a narrow and winding exit corridor, poor lighting and an announcement of an impending collapse that created panic.
Members of the old committee said that most of the new entrants did not know the locality and its narrow lanes well, and had little hands-on experience of organising big Pujas.
Eight members of the previous committee, including then general secretary Jayanta Banerjee, had resigned to make way for the new members.
Indications of a BJP takeover of the Puja committee seemed to have emerged during the first khunti puja itself, organised by the old committee.
“BJP leaders, including Locket Chatterjee and Kaustuv Bagchi, were present at the first khuti puja we organised,” Banerjee said on Monday.
“The new committee then met and decided to hold a second khuti puja. That’s how it was.”
Several members of the old Puja committee said the road leading to the Chorebagan Sarbajanin Durgotsav Samity’s pandal is narrow, particularly near the main entrance where it resembles a “chicken’s neck”.
“Our years of experience had taught us to have volunteers hold ropes at multiple points on this stretch of the Amar Basu Sarani to stagger the flow of the crowd,” a former committee member who didn’t want to be identified said.
The former committee member said: “A buffer zone would separate those about to enter the pandal from those waiting in the queue. Without this arrangement, it’s impossible to control the crowd. I have learnt that this buffer zone was not in place this time.”
A senior Chorebagan resident, who too asked not to be identified, said: “Some of the new committee members have no idea about our locality, and there was no coordination between the police and Puja committee members.”
Several big-ticket Puja organisers, who did not want to be quoted, said crowd management was a skill acquired over many years and required the active involvement of the committee members.
“The committee members should know exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are. This wasn’t the first time it had rained in the evening on a Puja day,” a senior member of a Puja committee in north Calcutta said.
“Committee members have to step in, break the queue of visitors, shift some to a covered place, and coordinate with those overseeing the exit.
“A committee can’t rely solely on hired guards and the police. The members have to remain present to manage the crowd. At least that is what we do, having learnt from years of experience.”
Several eyewitnesses have alleged that on Saturday evening, when a drizzle turned into a shower, the crowd waiting to enter the Chorebagan pandal started pushing its way in to avoid getting drenched.
What compounded the chaos was an announcement about the imminent collapse of a part of the pandal that created panic and a surge towards the exit. However, those close to the exit gate were waiting for the rain to stop before they stepped out, which led to a congestion in the narrow, winding corridor, causing some to fall and get trampled on.
“Those inside began screaming as some fell on the ground, unable to withstand the pressure from behind. Some complained of breathlessness; others asked for water. A few screamed for their loved ones,” an eyewitness said.
Ojha, the local MLA and Puja committee chairman, denied any effort by the BJP to assume complete control of the Puja committee, trying to distance the party from the tragedy. “We have been saying from Day One that we don’t want to take control of any Durga Puja committee, unlike the earlier regime,” he said.
“I was made the chairman as the local representative. There are 105 Durga Pujas in my constituency. I am a patron of other Pujas, too.” About the stampede, he said: “It’s heart-wrenching.” He then hung up.