On Saturday, October 17, at around 7:40 pm, a stampede occurred at the famous 'Chorbagan' puja temple in North Kolkata, in which at least 19 people died.
West Bengal Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari has said that 25 other people have been injured in the accident, out of which the condition of one is critical.
According to the official, 17 people died on the spot and two others died later.
According to police sources, efforts are being made to identify the dead and injured. It is believed that many of them had come from different districts outside Kolkata to participate in the puja.
In view of this incident, the West Bengal government has started a toll-free helpline.
Many people are sharing the video recorded from a building near the incident site on social media. Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh is also included in these.
The video is a bit blurry, but in it many people are seen lying on the ground and sounds of screaming can be heard.
Police have sealed the Chorbagan public Durga Puja pandal. After the incident, no member of the puja committee was seen in the pavilion.
West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said, "Due to the rain, a pressure cooker-like situation was created. When suddenly it started raining, people inside did not want to go out and people outside wanted to come inside."
Ban on entry into many other puja pandals
This is a big budget puja in North Kolkata.
Police sources have confirmed that three other big and famous puja pandals of Kolkata have also been closed for entry of people.
Apart from this, the organizers of another big puja pandal, where huge crowds were gathering for several days, are themselves announcing that people will not be allowed to enter.
After inspecting the incident site, Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari visited Kolkata Medical College and Hospital. State Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee also reached the hospital.
According to news agency PTI, Kolkata Police has arrested the organizers of Chorbagan Durga Puja along with seven people in connection with the stampede incident. Earlier, along with these 7 people, the police had detained a total of 12 people.
The police itself has registered an FIR in this matter. The people killed are also being identified.
How did the accident happen?
According to eyewitnesses, thousands of people had gathered at the Chorbagan public pavilion in the evening. When heavy rain started around 7:30 in the evening, many people started going inside the puja pavilion located between the narrow streets to escape from it.
On the other hand, the people present inside the pandal were not able to come out. People trapped outside in the rain also started pushing to go inside. Due to this, people started falling on each other under the pressure of the crowd on the temporarily constructed stairs.
The idol of Durga was kept under an iron structure in the pandal. It is being investigated whether any part of that structure had collapsed.
According to the information received so far from witnesses, the entire incident may have happened within five to seven minutes.
An eyewitness told news agency PTI, "My sister had gone with my maternal uncle, maternal aunt and her younger sister. According to my maternal uncle, they were passing by and were coming out when a stampede broke out... No volunteer took the initiative to control the crowd at the pandal."
A victim of the incident said, "The place there was very narrow. A lot of people were standing in queues. It was completely dark there and there was not a single light. My granddaughter and other children were with me. Two children are admitted in the hospital. I had also fallen. There was no police or any worker present there for half an hour after the accident."
A young man who reached the spot said, "We came here after seeing the Instagram reel. From Instagram we came to know that this pandal is very nice. A lot of crowd was seen here in the reel. When we came here, we came to know that an accident has happened."
Allegations of mismanagement, Shubhendu Adhikari himself inaugurated the pavilion
Chorbagan public puja has reached its 91st year this year. There is a narrow lane to enter the pavilion. West Bengal Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari had inaugurated this pavilion five days ago.
It is being told that only a few volunteers were present to manage the crowd on the roads around the pandal. It is also alleged that one lane was reserved for VIPs.
The second exit for the common people was about 10 feet wide at some places and 30 feet wide at others. Even people who climbed the stairs to reach the exit were not able to get out.
A person present at the pandal complained, "The nearby Parvati Ghosh Lane was closed. No ambulance was allowed to enter. The police had also left the place. Local residents rushed to rescue the people trapped inside."
Another person said that three of his friends who had come to see the pandal fell on the ground. He tried to lift them, but he could not do so. Later some more people came forward and tried to take them out.
Earlier in 2015, there was a stampede during Durga Puja in Deshapriya Park in South Kolkata. The puja was stopped after about 11 people were injured in that incident.
Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari said that according to initial information received from the Assistant Commissioner of Police present at the spot, the incident started after the announcement of a private security agency and whistling by some people.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Kolkata on Saturday evening as per the pre-planned schedule. He wrote on his
Amit Shah had planned to attend Durga Puja in West Bengal on Sunday. He has postponed all his programs in West Bengal.
