Safety audit of Puja pandals begins in Kolkata
KOLKATA, Oct 18: Grief continued to overshadow the second day of Durga Puja celebrations across Bengal as bereaved families collected the bodies of 19 victims, including a seven-year-old child, from state-run hospitals following Saturday night’s stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal.
Police arrested seven persons, including the general secretary and vice-president of the Chorbagan Puja committee, and produced them in court.
A suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered. Investigators are examining crowd-management arrangements, the role of organisers and possible lapses by personnel deployed at the site.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari chaired a high-level meeting at the CID headquarters and ordered a comprehensive review of safety arrangements at major Puja pandals. He indicated that the practice of separate VIP gates would be discontinued and announced that temporary home guards posted at the Chorbagan pandal would face investigation for alleged negligence. Nine IPS officers experienced in festive crowd control have been deployed across Kolkata.
A special inspection team led by state disaster management department secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Fire Services Director General Anuj Sharma and Special Task Force Additional Director General Javed Shamim began work on Sunday. The team first visited the Santosh Mitra Square community Puja and subsequently other major pandals.
Officials decided that food stalls would be barred near entry and exit points, separate VIP entrances would be eliminated, exits widened, lighting improved and temporary bottlenecks removed. The panel has been empowered to regulate visitor numbers on the spot if required.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his scheduled Puja engagements to visit 14 injured persons receiving treatment at a private hospital. Of the 25 people injured in the incident, 23 were reported to be stable and likely to be discharged shortly, while two remained in intensive care.
Post-mortem examinations were completed at Calcutta National Medical College and NRS Medical College, after which the bodies were handed over to families.
Magistrates and DSP-rank officers have been assigned to supervise the process and remain with the kin until cremation.
The Chief Minister stated that he would personally visit the bereaved families on October 20 and 21 to deliver the announced compensation.
The tragedy prompted sharp political exchanges. The Mamata Banerjee faction of the TMC alleged administrative failure in crowd control and emergency response and claimed that the Chief Minister’s nephew had been associated with the Chorbagan committee.
The Chief Minister condemned attempts to politicise the incident, asserting that the administration’s priority remained relief and assistance to victims and their families. He further announced that a toned-down Bijoya Sammilani would be held on 26 October for Puja committees to discuss lessons from the tragedy. (PTI)