Nineteen people died and 25 were injured after a severe crowd crush at a Durga Puja pandal in Chorbagan, Kolkata, on Saturday evening, when heavy rain and traffic congestion drove visitors towards the mandap. The dead included children, teenagers, working adults and families who had travelled from different parts of West Bengal and Bihar to visit the puja.
According to a report by Anandabazar, the incident occurred as rain intensified across north and central Kolkata. A witness said many people who had been standing in a queue tried to enter the pandal to shelter from the rain. Pushing began inside the venue, and several people fell along a circular passage, creating conditions resembling a stampede.
The report said all 19 victims had been identified. Seventeen were residents of West Bengal, while two were visitors from another state. Among them were Abhishek Srivastava and his 14-year-old son Ayansh, who had travelled from Bihar with family members. Abhishek’s wife, Nibha, was informed about their son’s death but had reportedly not yet been told about her husband’s death when the family was being taken back to Bihar.
Two 17-year-old friends, Tania Biswas and Barnali Haldar from New Town’s Gouranganagar area, also died after visiting Kolkata for the puja. The two had planned to wear sarees for the outing and had travelled to the city after visiting Salt Lake. Their families were among those waiting for the girls to return home.
The victims also included Shriparna Poddar, a 27-year-old nurse at Tata Cancer Hospital from Baidyabati in Hooghly. She had left for work on Saturday morning and later went to the pandal with friends. Her family and local residents travelled to Kolkata Medical College after receiving information about the incident.
A 13-year-old boy, Pranjal Sarkar, had visited the puja with his parents from Agarpara. Relatives said he became separated from them in the crowd and fell. The report also identified 19-year-old student Priya Samaddar of New Barrackpore, 33-year-old Shubham Sonkar of Baghmari and several other visitors from areas including Baranagar, Chakdaha, Panihati, Howrah and Hooghly among the dead.
Relatives described different accounts of the crowd movement. Ram Sarkar, whose wife Arati Sarkar Biswas died, said visitors were suddenly instructed to leave the pandal after a whistle was sounded. He said the simultaneous attempt by large numbers of people to exit caused a crush, during which Arati fell and could not get back up.
Ratna Debnath, a local legislator, visited some affected families on Sunday. She said the exit route from the pandal was dark and that rain and the excessive crowd had made the situation more difficult. The report also said that Agamani Bez, the daughter of one of the victims, was injured and remained under treatment in hospital.
The incident has left 16 families in mourning, with relatives travelling to hospitals and homes across Kolkata and neighbouring districts to identify victims and receive the bodies. The supplied report did not provide details of any formal investigation, crowd-control review or further administrative action.
