Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A 25-year-old man survived the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Saturday, October 17, evening but lost his mother in the tragedy.
Still in shock, Sonu Pal recalled the horror as a sudden downpour prompted people gathered at the pandal entrance to push their way inside to escape the rain.
His mother was among the 19 people who died in the stampede, which also left around 25 others injured. “My mother died before my eyes; I too might not have survived,” he said.
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“It was raining outside, and nobody wanted to step outside. People who were standing at the entrance to escape the rain kept pushing to get in,” Pal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The grieving man said the crowd pressure soon became overwhelming. “Unable to handle the pressure, everybody inside fell on one another,” he recounted.
He said he, too, was caught in the pile-up. “I was also trapped under the crowd. I somehow managed to steady myself and went to my mother, but she was dead,” Pal said.
The incident took place around 7.40 pm in the Girish Park police station area. All the injured were taken to Medical College and Hospital, the police said.
Relatives of the stampede victims also questioned who would take responsibility for the deaths. Speaking to reporters, family members said they had been asked to come on Sunday morning at 10 to collect the bodies of their loved ones.
“We will collect the body, but who will take the responsibility? Where were the police and the administration?” asked Sunny, a neighbour of one of the people who died in the incident.
Another man recalled how he was planning the wedding of his sister, who was aged around 30, before the stampede claimed her life.
“She is gone today. Who will take the responsibility for this?” Shubham Sonkar asked. His sister was out for pandal hopping with family members when the fatal incident took place.
“Others in the group were not hurt, but my sister is no more,” Sonkar said, per PTI.
A neighbour of another grieving family alleged poor crowd management at Chorbagan compared to other puja pandals in Kolkata.
John Rahman, who lives in the same neighbourhood as the affected family, said the relatives were angry.
“Who will take the responsibility? Will the organisers take it, or the administration? They will have to answer,” he said.
– Ends
(Bsed on inputs from PTI)
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
