SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Kolkata: On Sunday, October 18, seven suspects in the Durga Pandal panic were detained and taken into 10-day police custody.
The arrested include vice chairman Santanu Dubey, vice president of the ritual commission, vice president of the city, vice president of wooden structures Biplab Mukherjee, group managers Koushik Saha and Pintu Dey, and private security spokesman Raj Kumar.
19 people died in the frenzy, the majority of them children and women. 24 were injured. The seven people are being detained by Kolkata Police on suspicion of criminal crime that is not a crime.
Defense attorneys argued that the suspects were stupid visitors or save volunteers, despite the prosecution’s allegation of total mismanagement, including thin gates, inadequate security, and reliance on verbal order.
The arrested accused’s attorney, MD Yashim Raheman, claimed he had informed the court that they were visiting Durga Puja events and that they were not from other countries. They intervened to help with recovery efforts after noticing the large crowding, where many people were in stress.
9 IPS officials are assigned to the Durga Puja audience management task.
The state government has decided to employ nine Indian Police Service ( IPS) officers with experience in Kolkata’s Durga Puja crowd management to deal with the festive fervor.
Nine IPS officers have been given crowd-management responsibilities during the festival, according to a top official, including Sumanjit Ray, IG ( Border ), Mehmud Akhtar, IG ( IB ), Miraj Khalid, IG ( Traffic ), Shubhankar Bhattacharya, DIG ( CID), Tarun Haldar, DIG ( CID), Priyabrata Ray, SP ( Traffic ), and Deepak Sarkar, SS ( CID), to improve crowd
11-point expert from the Kolkata Police
In light of concerns about group control, police presence, and claims of neglect against puja organizers following the tragedy, Kolkata Police issued an 11-point cautionary note to its employees to avoid unfavorable incidents at significant Durga Puja pandals.
In such circumstances, there will be no group inside Pandas. He added that law enforcement has been given instructions on how to set up the appropriate light at the locations.
Police officers are advised to stay at their assigned messages no matter what the weather is like. The situation has dictate how visitors move into pandals.
The officer further explained that” Cars carrying Guests will not be permitted up to the pandals and must be parked at a designated distance.”
Police officers have also been instructed to keep an eye on the announcements made by the organizers of the ritual and to prevent abrupt changes to customer routes. A five to six volunteer team from each worship council must be coordinated by every agent and constable.
CM makes suggestions about removing the VIP doors at Durga Puja Pandas.
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari previously suggested that the government should require eliminating the use of VIP gated Durga Puja pandals and that there must be clear entry and exit procedures following the frenzy.
Puja organisers frequently grant exclusive access to “VIP pandal hoppers,” who generally remain clutter-free during peak sales hours, particularly the more well-known and high-budget types. Puja revellers who want special exposure are offered exclusive passes at a premium price through VIP gates.
” Durga Pujas will be subject to limited access if necessary. No Club or other unique traces may be present at pujas. Learning from yesterday’s negative practice.
The CM continued,” There may be times when this happens.” However, as a state, we accept responsibility for it and cooperate with rescue and relief efforts instead of playing responsible and criticizing. Don’t politicize this, please.
On October 26, Adhikari announced a toned-down Bijoya Sammelani ( traditional post-puja cultural reunion ) with Kolkata’s suburbs ‘ puja committees. He told reporters at the state police office in Kolkata that the views from this year would be exchanged and steps could be taken to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.
Major Durga Puja pandals are inspected by a high-level group for safety
Also, a top-level committee to evaluate safety measures at significant Durga Puja marquees in West Bengal visited many neighborhood puja pandals in Kolkata on Sunday, according to an official.
The council members examined the light and access ways as they approached Santosh Mitra Square near Sealdah Station, which is a popular destination for revelers because of its modern designs.
According to sources, the board members visited a number of Kolkata’s crowd-pulling Durga Puja pandals to check out audience management plans and safety regulations.
Antagonism to the state government’s loss:
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the head of the Congress, claimed the event should not have occurred because the state government, the presidency, the fire brigade, and the provincial firm had to be at fault.
” If the fire brigade and the municipal corporation teams had acted more quickly, the tragedy could have been avoided.” A well-known Durga Puja celebration takes place where this took place, he claimed.
According to Chowdhury,” the government’s failure to exercise proper caution led to the deaths of devotees who had come to pray for Goddess Durga.”
He expressed condolences to the families who were the victims of the stampede and demanded an impartial investigation.
The Congress’s claims were supported by the Communist Party of India ( Marxist ), who claimed state authorities had failed to protect devotees.
The party expressed deep grief over the deaths and condolled the bereaved individuals in a statement. The state government acted as a” PR agency for a private-run hospital” instead of offering the best medical facilities at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, according to the statement.
( With PTI inputs )
SOURCE : SIASAT
