Kolkata, Oct 18 The stampede at the Chorbagan pandal in north Kolkata was a tragedy that should have never happened during the city’s biggest festival, theme artiste Sushanta Shibani Pal said, describing the incident as a “black day for Durga Puja”.
Nineteen people were killed and 25 others injured in the stampede at the pandal on Saturday evening, following a surge in the crowd amid rain.
“It is a tragic incident, something that was never desirable during Kolkata’s Durga Puja celebrations. This is a black day for Durga Puja,” Pal said.
Recalling the heavy rush at the venue, he said, “I was there around 3.30 am. Even then, the crowd was so large that I felt uneasy.”
Asked about the precautions taken to prevent such an incident, Pal said senior officers from Kolkata Police headquarters had visited the venue and monitored the situation through live video feeds.
“They explained what needed to be done to manage the crowd. Visitors were stopping in front of the idol to take photographs, causing congestion. Police suggested putting up layers of cloth to prevent people from taking photographs from above. The arrangement was made on Saturday afternoon,” he said.
Pal said he later learnt that rain had contributed to the chaos, with visitors inside the pandal reluctant to leave while more people continued to enter.
“I was told that people inside the pandal did not want to leave because of the rain, while people outside continued to enter. Amid the resulting rush, the tragic incident took place,” he claimed.
Asked about the precautions taken to prevent such an incident, Pal said senior officers from Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, had visited the venue and monitored the situation through live video.
“They explained what needed to be done to manage the crowd. Visitors were stopping in front of the idol to take photographs, causing congestion. The police suggested putting up layers of cloth to prevent people from stopping wherever they wanted and taking photographs from above. The arrangement was made on Saturday afternoon,” he said.
The puja was closed indefinitely following the incident. The pandal, based on the theme ‘Orb’, meaning ‘Beyond Sound’, had drawn large crowds for its artistic design and idol.
“We work to reach people through our art. But an incident like this is something we would never want. I have worked on many pujas before, and such large crowds are not unusual,” Pal said.
(PTI News)
