Odisha Police has directed Durga Puja committees in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to introduce queue-based darshan and strengthen crowd-control arrangements after a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata killed 19 people and injured 25 others. The instructions were issued as police and organisers prepared to manage large gatherings at festival venues across the two cities.
Odisha Director General of Police Vinaytosh Mishra said narrow passages combined with heavy crowds could create conditions for a stampede-like situation. He said organisers had been asked to establish a dhadi darshan system, in which devotees enter and move through pandals in regulated queues.
Mishra said police personnel and volunteers had been deployed at entrance and exit gates to control the movement of visitors. Authorities will restrict the number of people allowed inside a pandal at any one time, and entry will be stopped if someone falls inside, he said.
The security arrangements also include mobile police units, anti-snatching teams, anti-eve-teasing squads and a striking force at strategic locations. Movement of four-wheelers has been restricted on narrow roads leading to pandals. Ambulances and fire service teams have also been positioned at venues, according to the DGP.
Kataka-Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said puja committees were responsible for ensuring the safety of devotees at their respective venues, while police were regulating arrangements and providing security. He said meetings had been held with stakeholders and that organisers had been instructed to install closed-circuit television cameras and deploy enough volunteers for crowd management.
Singh warned that strong action would be taken if organisers violated the guidelines issued for the celebrations. He also stressed that queue-based darshan should be implemented at the pandals, making crowd movement a shared responsibility between organisers, volunteers and the police.
Inspector General of Police, Central Range, Satyajit Naik appealed to residents to celebrate peacefully and maintain discipline, harmony and mutual respect. He said processions and immersion ceremonies should be conducted in an orderly manner and should not inconvenience other residents.
Naik also cautioned people against circulating unverified messages, photographs and videos, saying that inaccurate or provocative social media content could create confusion, fear and tension. He urged residents to avoid drunken driving, reckless driving and disorderly behaviour that could endanger public safety.
The directives follow the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening, where a crowd surge occurred amid rain. The incident has placed renewed attention on how festival venues manage entry, exits, narrow approaches and emergency access during periods of concentrated pedestrian movement.
