West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has acknowledged gaps in government hospital infrastructure after 14 people injured in the Chorebagan crowd-crush incident were shifted from Kolkata Medical College to a private hospital for treatment. He said improving public hospitals to the level of private facilities could take at least two years.
The incident at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin puja pandal resulted in 19 deaths on Saturday, according to the report by Anandabazar. Several injured people were initially taken to Kolkata Medical College. Fourteen were later moved to a private hospital near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, while two others were sent to SSKM Hospital.
The transfers had drawn questions from sections of the medical community, particularly over whether the public health system had been able to handle the number and nature of injuries. Adhikari defended the decision, saying the government’s priority was to prevent further deaths and provide the best available treatment.
“Many were questioning why the Chorebagan injured were sent to an expensive hospital. We wanted to provide the best possible treatment to the patients,” Adhikari said after visiting the control room at the state Health Department on Tuesday evening, according to Anandabazar. He said the private hospital was chosen because it had better arrangements for the required care than Kolkata Medical College, adding that no further deaths had occurred after treatment began.
Adhikari said the government had been in office for six months and would need two years to make public hospital services comparable with those in private hospitals. He also said that allergy testing was still unavailable in West Bengal hospitals and that patients had to be sent to Mumbai for the test. He said his government was taking steps to address the infrastructure gaps.
The chief minister’s remarks came as medical teams were deployed at major Durga Puja venues following the Chorebagan incident. He said several doctors and healthcare workers had cancelled their puja leave to assist with emergency services and thanked them for their support.
The episode has also raised questions about the absence of a clear protocol for transferring mass-casualty patients from government hospitals to private facilities. Utpal Bandyopadhyay, secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, said the transfer was unprecedented and that doctors had received different accounts of how the decision was made. He said some families were reportedly offered a choice of treatment location, while junior doctors told the association they had followed instructions from their units and department heads.
Bandyopadhyay said the government should issue guidelines specifying which patients can be treated in public hospitals and when they should be moved elsewhere. He also questioned whether all the patients sent to the private hospital required such a transfer, noting that several had already been discharged.
Debashis Haldar, associated with the RG Kar movement, alleged that shortages of medicines and infrastructure had worsened after the change in government. Biplab Chandra of the Medical Service Centre said the administration needed to demonstrate improvements rather than make promises.
The government’s stated two-year timeline and any formal protocol for handling future mass-casualty events will now be key next steps, while the condition and treatment outcomes of those injured remain part of the incident’s official follow-up.
