The Chorbagan stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata has killed 19 people and injured 25, prompting Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh to call for tighter crowd-management arrangements at festival venues. The incident took place on Saturday evening when a surge of visitors gathered amid rain.
Ghosh said the crush was likely triggered by an overwhelming influx of people visiting the pandal. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he described the incident as deeply distressing and said such a tragedy had not occurred at the venue in earlier years.
“People have been visiting pandals for years, but such an incident had never happened before. Large celebrations draw lakhs of people; such tragedies should never happen,” Ghosh said.
The minister urged Durga Puja committees to take preventive measures in consultation with the police. He said organisers must ensure crowd safety and establish arrangements that allow visitors to move through the venue safely.
“Organisers must ensure crowd safety. Puja committees must take preventive measures in consultation with police to ensure crowd circulation,” Ghosh said.
The circumstances described in the report place crowd movement, visitor volumes and weather conditions at the centre of the immediate response. The surge occurred as visitors arrived at the pandal during rain, creating a rapidly changing situation at a large public gathering. The report did not provide further details on the specific crowd-control systems or emergency arrangements in place at the venue when the incident occurred.
Durga Puja pandals across Bengal attract large numbers of visitors, with Ghosh noting that major celebrations can draw lakhs of people. The minister’s appeal therefore extends beyond the Chorbagan venue, asking organisers to coordinate with police before and during large gatherings and to take steps aimed at preventing another stampede.
The incident has also raised an immediate operational responsibility for festival organisers and local authorities: ensuring that people can enter, circulate within and leave crowded public venues without dangerous congestion. Ghosh said crowd circulation should be planned in consultation with the police, placing coordination between puja committees and law-enforcement authorities at the centre of the response.
The state government is ensuring treatment for the injured, according to the minister. No further details on the condition of those injured, the identity of the victims, or any inquiry into the incident were provided in the supplied report.
Ghosh’s appeal calls on Durga Puja committees to strengthen preventive arrangements and work with police to manage visitor movement. The immediate next steps are the treatment of the injured and the tightening of crowd-control measures at other large puja gatherings.
