The Chorbagan stampede in Kolkata has left families mourning after several festivalgoers died during the crush, including nurse Shriparna Poddar of Baidyabati, a resident of Hooghly district. Relatives and neighbours said she had gone to see the festival after completing her shift at Tata Cancer Centre on Saturday, but never returned home.
Poddar had told her family that she would be late. After work, she went to Chorbagan with friends. According to the report, one of her friends later called the family with the news of her death. The family rushed to Kolkata Medical College, where they learnt that Poddar had died in the incident.
Poddar was her parents’ only child. Neighbour Haridas Chattopadhyay said she had been a lively presence in the locality and had completed a BSc in nursing before taking up employment. He said she was often the first person to help when someone in the neighbourhood fell ill.
“She told me in the morning to arrange a toto,” Chattopadhyay was quoted as saying. “She was a very lively girl. She studied with my nephew and was working after completing BSc Nursing.”
Another resident, Rimpa Das, said Poddar had told her that she was going to see the festival. Das said she received news of the death at around 9 pm and was unable to believe that Poddar was no longer alive.
The report said Chapdani MLA Dilip Singh and officers from the Sheoraphuli police outpost visited the family’s home after learning of the incident. The account did not provide details of any formal inquiry, crowd-control measures or the total number of casualties.
The incident also claimed the life of Mithu Mondal, who had gone to see the festival with her son, Sourav Mondal, a resident of Kumartuli. The two were standing in a queue when the crush occurred, according to the report. Sourav fell during the intense pushing and said he struggled to breathe under the pressure before managing to get up. His mother died at the spot, leaving him to witness her death.
In another case, Kalpana Jana of the Sodepur area died after telling neighbours that she would return from the festival in time for a lunch invitation the next day. Her neighbours said she had invited them to eat together on Sunday and had left after asking them to wait for her return. They said the gathering could not take place after her death.
The accounts from families and neighbours underline the human cost of crowd incidents at urban festivals, where queues, narrow movement routes and sudden pressure can quickly turn a public celebration into a deadly emergency. Further official details on the incident, the casualty count and the investigation were not included in the report.
