Kolkata’s Health Department has cancelled leave for doctors, officials and other staff and ordered medical teams to be stationed near several major festival pandals after 19 people reportedly died while visiting a pandal at Chorbagan. The measures were issued on Saturday through a directive from Swasthya Bhavan, the state health department’s administrative headquarters.
The directive names medical teams from Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta Medical College, National Medical College and Hospital, and SSKM Hospital for deployment near selected pandals. Teams have been assigned to Santosh Mitra Square, Tala Pratyay, College Square, Ekdalia Evergreen and Chetla Agrani.
Under the instructions, one doctor must remain at each designated pandal from 5 pm until 6 am the following morning. The deployment covers the period when large visitor flows are expected at the pandals and is intended to ensure that medical assistance is available close to crowded venues rather than relying only on hospital-based response.
The Health Department has also made the presence of specialists at hospitals mandatory. Orthopaedic doctors, neurosurgeons and anaesthetists are required to remain available, according to the report. The directive further instructs authorities to ensure adequate supplies of ambulances, blood and oxygen.
The cancellation of leave applies to doctors, officials and other health workers. The department has warned that staff who do not comply with the instructions could face suspension. The order places responsibility on both the designated medical teams and hospitals to maintain emergency readiness during the festival period.
The reported Chorbagan deaths have therefore prompted a response that extends beyond individual pandal deployments. It includes hospital staffing, specialist availability and emergency-resource planning, bringing multiple parts of Kolkata’s public-health system into the arrangements for crowd management.
Additional precautions have been requested in North 24 Parganas because of the expected crowds at Dakshineswar and the immersion activity at Taki. The district’s chief medical officer has been asked to make additional preparations and maintain heightened vigilance, according to the report.
The Health Department’s directive does not specify how long the arrangements will remain in force beyond the festival period. Its immediate operational requirements are the overnight presence of doctors at the named pandals, mandatory specialist availability at hospitals and adequate stocks of ambulances, blood and oxygen.
