A report by Sangbad Pratidin says West Bengal authorities have formed a special team to inspect the management and safety arrangements at Kolkata’s remaining Durga Puja pandals after a reported crowd incident at Chorbagan. The report says 19 people died and at least 15 were injured, but these central details, along with the official response, require confirmation from police, hospitals or government authorities.
According to the report, the incident took place on Saptami evening at about 7.40 pm. It says witnesses described a rush after an announcement was made over a loudspeaker, with several people falling while attempting to leave the pandal. The report states that some of the injured were in a serious condition and that the number of deaths could rise.
The account says the Chief Minister visited Kolkata Medical College after receiving information about the incident and later inspected the Chorbagan puja venue. It attributes to the Chief Minister a decision to create a team to examine the arrangements at popular puja pandals across the city. The report names officials from the state disaster management department, fire services and the Special Task Force as members or leaders of the team, with Kolkata Police providing assistance.
The supplied report says the team’s findings will be submitted to the state Home Secretary. It also says the review is intended to assess crowd management and safety arrangements during the remaining days of the festival, when large numbers of visitors are expected at pandals across Kolkata.
The report further attributes several possible precautions to the Chief Minister, including compliance by puja committees with police and administrative recommendations. It says that, if necessary, rituals could be conducted with only the priest present, while access to a pandal could be restricted and live images shown on LED screens outside. These measures are presented as administrative advice in the report, not as a confirmed citywide order.
For Kolkata’s festival infrastructure, the reported incident places attention on the operational systems that manage short-duration surges in pedestrian movement: entry and exit routes, announcements, emergency access, fire safety, medical response and coordination between organisers and public agencies. The supplied material does not establish which specific arrangement failed at the Chorbagan venue, whether the reported casualties have been officially confirmed, or whether any legal action has followed.
There are also attribution issues in the supplied article. It identifies the Chief Minister as Shubhendu Adhikari and gives names and designations for senior officials, but these details have not been independently confirmed in the material available for this draft. The incident, casualty figures, official committee and proposed restrictions should therefore be treated as reported claims pending confirmation from authoritative sources.
The next confirmed step described by Sangbad Pratidin is the inspection of Kolkata’s major puja pandals by the special team and submission of its report to the state Home Secretary. No verified findings from that review were available in the supplied material.
