Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Around 66,000 Durga Puja celebrations across West Bengal passed off peacefully, barring the stampede at a pandal in Kolkata that killed 19 people, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Adhikari said lessons must be learnt from the tragedy at the Chorbagan pandal and announced that the state government would hold an administrative meeting before Kali Puja to review the situation and take steps to prevent similar incidents.
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“Other than the Chorbagan incident, all 66,000 pujas were organised well. Even the immersion passed off without any incident. Every year, several incidents used to take place, but this year there were not many. It would have been better if this tragedy had not happened. Now, we must learn from it and be more cautious,” Adhikari said, as reported by PTI.
The chief minister made the remarks after visiting the families of two victims of the stampede — Sneha Bhandari in Bakrahat in South 24 Parganas district and Bikash Bhattacharya in Salkia in Howrah district.
He paid floral tributes to their portraits and handed over financial assistance on behalf of the government. Adhikari said the visits took his outreach to 15 bereaved families.
“There can be no compensation for such an irreparable loss. But it is our responsibility to stand beside the families in this difficult time. We have provided financial assistance and will continue to support them,” he said, according to PTI.
The chief minister also announced that the wife of one of the victims would be given employment and would join in December.
Referring to the 2017 Gangasagar Mela tragedy, in which 17 people died in a stampede after a jetty collapsed, Adhikari said people were aware of how the government at the time had responded.
“I do not want to take credit for what we are doing. People are watching everything and will judge for themselves. They know the difference between the response then and now,” he said.
Nineteen people were killed and 25 injured in the stampede at the Chorbagan pandal on October 17. Adhikari said the government would continue supporting the victims’ families while reviewing safety measures before Kali Puja.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
