No VIP queues, no food stalls at gates: Bengal's safety panel moves through Kolkata's big pandals

Separate VIP entrances are gone, food stalls will be kept away from entry and exit gates, and organisers have been told to widen exits and light them better. Those were the first decisions of a high-level safety committee that fanned out across Kolkata’s biggest Durga Puja pandals on Sunday, a day after a crush at Chorbagan in the north of the city killed 19 people, among them a seven-year-old.

The team began at Santosh Mitra Square and moved on to Tala Prattoy and other large pandals, with powers to decide on the spot. Nine IPS officers with experience of handling Durga Puja crowds have been deployed to help. Organisers were also told to clear the bottlenecks created by temporary enclosures.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said visitor numbers could be regulated if necessary and that there would be no separate queues for VIPs. He ordered a review of safety arrangements at all major pujas.

A festival in mourning

Sunday was the second day of the puja, and grief hung over the celebrations. Vinod Haldar, a rickshaw puller from New Town, lost his 17-year-old daughter in the stampede. “I have nothing left. There will never be a Durga Puja in our lives again,” he said.

Of the 25 people injured, 23 had minor injuries and were expected to go home, while two remained in intensive care. Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his puja engagements to meet 14 of the injured at a private hospital.

The crush took place at a common entry and exit gate, not inside the pandal. Officials were reported to have said that guards had used a rope to divide the passage and ran for cover when it started to rain.

The investigation

Police have arrested seven people, including the Chorbagan puja committee’s general secretary and vice-president, and registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Temporary home guards posted at the pandal, organisers and the authorities who granted permissions will all be investigated. Adhikari said the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court would be asked to let a sitting judge head the inquiry. Kolkata Police, the civic body and the fire services have been kept out of the special investigation.

Politics over the pandal

The opposition seized on the name of Debdeep Adhikari, listed in publicity material as chief patron of the Chorbagan puja, whom it described as the Chief Minister’s nephew. “When will you put the culprit nephew in jail, Suvendu Babu?” Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee asked. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said he had no knowledge of Debdeep Adhikari’s involvement. The Chief Minister condemned attempts to turn the tragedy into a political controversy and said the administration was concentrating on relief.

What happens next

Adhikari will visit the families of the dead on 20 and 21 October to hand over compensation cheques. Magistrates and DSP-rank officers have been told to stay with families until the cremations are done. A toned-down Bijoya Sammilani for puja committees, meant to draw lessons from the tragedy, is planned for 26 October.