West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has directed police, district officials and Durga Puja committees in Murshidabad to remain on high alert during the festive season after accidents were reported at two puja pandals in the district. He made the appeal while inaugurating Budhaspara Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Lalbagh on Thursday.
“Some people are deliberately trying to spoil the festive spirit. Recently, two puja pandals in the district witnessed accidents. Investigations are underway. Do not allow anyone to spoil the festive mood,” Adhikari said, according to a report by the Times of India.
The direction places responsibility for festival safety across the local administration, police and organisers. The report did not provide details of the accidents, the number of people affected or the specific safety measures being introduced. It said investigations into the incidents were underway.
Adhikari also highlighted the expansion of Durga Puja activity in the state. He said 13,000 new pujas had received permission since the change of government, taking the total number of pujas in Bengal from 45,000 last year to 58,000 this year. Murshidabad alone has received approval for more than 800 new pujas.
The increase in the number of permitted celebrations also expands the administrative task of inspecting temporary structures, managing crowds, ensuring electrical safety and coordinating emergency response. The chief minister said each puja committee receives a grant of Rs 1 lakh. Electricity charges have been waived for the committees, while fire licences are being provided free of cost.
During the event, Adhikari announced several development-related measures for Murshidabad. These included a plan to beautify a large lake to promote tourism, arrangements for land for an Industrial Training Institute in Lalbagh and the proposed development of a girls’ college at Lalbagh Subhas Chandra Bose Centenary College. He also said Shaktipur hospital would be converted into a 200-bed facility.
The chief minister referred to a meeting on river erosion scheduled in Delhi on October 27 and said the Centre had handed over enemy property to the state. The report did not provide further details about the property or the proposed lake beautification project, including their timelines, budgets or implementing agencies.
Adhikari also referred to law-and-order and public-health concerns in the district. He said a joint Border Security Force and police operation in Jalangi had seized 5,000 bottles of prohibited cough syrup. He added that cross-border crimes, including illegal infiltration, cattle smuggling and narcotics trafficking, had been brought under control to a great extent through coordination between the BSF and police, while border fencing was progressing.
On social reform, he identified drug trafficking, child marriage and teenage pregnancy as priorities. Citing government figures, Adhikari said there were 60,000 institutional deliveries involving mothers under 18 between January and June this year, including 9,700 in Murshidabad. He said early marriage and pregnancy were offences under the law and posed serious public-health risks.
The chief minister later inaugurated two more Durga Puja celebrations in Behrampore. A Facebook post by his office also said that financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh and an appointment letter for a civic volunteer post were handed to the father of Jasmina Khatun, a child who died in an accident during the Rejinagar bypoll. The report did not specify the next safety review or inspection deadline for the district’s puja pandals.
