SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Kolkata: At least 17 people were killed and several injured in a stampede at a crowded Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening, October 17, as heavy rain sent hundreds of visitors rushing for cover on Maha Saptami.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said 17 people were brought dead to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, while 25 others were injured. One of the injured was in a critical condition. Thirteen of the dead were women and one was a child, according to NDTV.
The incident took place around 7.40 pm at the exit gate of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin pandal in the Girish Park Police Station area. In a statement, Kolkata Police said the stampede occurred amid rain as heavy crowds of visitors pushed through. Around 35 people were taken to hospital, it said.
Fire brigade personnel, disaster management teams and ambulances with medical teams were rushed to the spot and the pandal was closed to visitors.
Narrow gates, no lights
Adhikari said preliminary information suggested that an announcement by the organisers led to a rush among the revellers. A police officer said the crowd waiting outside rushed forward when it started raining, and some of them fell on the road.
Witnesses blamed the narrow entrance and exit and the darkness in the lane leading to the pandal. One man, whose daughter and granddaughter were among the injured, said there had been a queue of about one-and-a-half hours at the entrance.
“It was dark. There was not a single light,” he told IANS. He said he fell along with others, and that there were no police or volunteers to help.
Another witness told ANI that many people fainted in the crush and were taken to hospital on motorcycles. A witness also said part of the pandal appeared to collapse, which added to the panic.
Puja organiser Bikash Das told IANS that it was not yet clear how the incident happened.
Organisers detained
Adhikari said Kolkata Police had detained the organisers of the puja and its private security staff. A fact-finding team would establish what happened and forensic tests would be carried out. He asked all puja committees to work with police on exit routes, noting that many pandals were not lit inside.
State Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee and Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand also visited the site and the hospital, along with Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “extremely distressing.” He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each of the dead and Rs 50,000 for each of the injured.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in West Bengal, said he had spoken to the Chief Minister. He postponed his programmes in the state on Sunday, October 18, so he could visit the injured in hospital.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged the state government to ensure proper medical care, adequate compensation and a thorough investigation to prevent such incidents.
Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was “deeply shocked and saddened.” She prayed for the injured to recover quickly.
The Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja, near Muktaram Babu Street in the Hatibagan area, has been held for more than 90 years. It is among the older community pujas in north Kolkata.
SOURCE : SIASAT
