Suvendu Adhikari visits Chorebagan stampede victims’ kin, promises support, jobs

Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday visited the homes of families who lost loved ones in the Chorebagan pandal stampede. He met bereaved relatives, handed over compensation cheques of ₹25 lakh and assured them of government jobs and other assistance.

The visits had been announced earlier.

Nineteen pandal visitors died and 25 others were injured in the stampede at Chorebagan on Saturday, Saptami.

Among those Suvendu visited were the families of Tania Biswas and Barnali Halder in North 24-Parganas, including a stop at Gouranganagar in New Town. He also met Prithwish Ghosh, a young survivor who lost both his parents in the stampede.

Describing the visits as a responsibility rather than a formality, Suvendu said it was his duty to stand by the families in their hour of grief. He assured them that the government would extend all possible assistance, including financial support and employment opportunities for eligible family members.

Each bereaved family is entitled to ₹25 lakh in compensation, the state government had announced. Suvendu was also heard assuring at least one family of an additional ₹2 lakh, to be transferred to a bank account. This amount appeared to be separate from the announced compensation.

Suvendu asked family members to provide details of eligible relatives who could be considered for government employment. He offered to be Prithwish’s local guardian and assured the young survivor of continued support.

The visits came amid continuing questions over the circumstances that led to the stampede. Suvendu maintained that the tragedy was primarily the result of human error rather than structural failure. He pointed to possible lapses in the handling of crowd-control ropes and the management of visitors inside the premises.

He also defended the police against criticism, saying that the force was operating with limited personnel. Citing a police-to-population ratio of around 105 personnel per 1 lakh residents in Bengal, he asked how the existing force could be expected to manage the demand without adequate recruitment.

He said the practice of relying heavily on civic volunteers and temporary home guards during Puja could not, by itself, resolve the broader shortage of personnel. Regular police recruitment was necessary, he said, although filling vacancies would take time. The government was working to address the shortfall, he said.