Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday reviewed arrangements for Durga Puja idol immersions at Babughat in Kolkata, as the government stepped up security following a stampede at a city pandal that claimed 19 lives.
Accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand and Kolkata Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey, Adhikari took stock of the arrangements at Babughat and discussed measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the immersion process on Bijaya Dashami.
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"Additional precautions have been taken, and security arrangements have been strengthened. The NDRF is also involved in security arrangements. Cleaning work will be carried out after the immersions are over," the chief minister said.
The administration has intensified vigilance following the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal on Mahasaptami evening, which left 19 people dead.
A total of 18 IPS officers will supervise idol immersions in Kolkata and three neighbouring police commissionerates, an official said.
Of the 18 officers, 12 have been assigned to Kolkata, while six will oversee the process in Howrah, Barrackpore and Chandannagar. Their deployment will continue from Wednesday until October 24, with individual duty schedules drawn up for each officer, he said.
In Kolkata, Gaurav Sharma, Soma Das Mitra, Rashid Munir Khan, Akash Magharia, Suresh Kumar Chadive and Dhritiman Sarkar will supervise immersions on October 21 and 23.
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Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Imran Wahab, Shish Ram Jhajharia, Soumya Roy, Parijat Biswas and Siddhartha Dhapola will be on duty in the city on October 22 and 24.
In Howrah, Indra Chakraborty will oversee immersions on October 21 and 23, while Avaru Ravindranath will supervise the process on October 22 and 24.
Palash Chandra Dhali and Dyutiman Bhattacharya have been assigned to Barrackpore, while Abhijit Banerjee and Sandeep Mandal will oversee immersions in Chandannagar, the official added.