At least 19 people were killed and several others injured after a crowd-control disaster at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja in Kolkata during Mahasaptami night, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin. Eyewitnesses described panic, injuries and a delayed emergency response as visitors tried to leave the pandal area.
One eyewitness said a section of the pandal collapsed, creating a situation in which people struggled to breathe and attempted to escape through limited space. The witness said several people managed to get out but were injured, with bleeding from the face and head and torn clothing. Shoes, bags and water bottles were reportedly scattered across the road after the crowd surged.
“After a section of the pandal fell, a suffocating situation was naturally created there. Everyone was trying to get out somehow, but there was no space,” the eyewitness was quoted as saying. “Some people still managed to get out somehow. But everyone was injured.”
Another eyewitness said the scale of the incident became clear when the rush began and several people lost consciousness. The person told the newspaper that an individual believed to be a doctor was checking the pulses of some victims. The eyewitness also said there was not enough police presence inside the area at the time, which contributed to a delay in bringing the situation under control.
The incident has prompted changes to crowd-management arrangements at major puja pandals, according to the report. Following a meeting at Bhabanibhavan, the state government has decided to discontinue VIP passes at large puja venues. Visitors will instead be required to enter through a single queue, with the decision described as a measure taken in response to the Chorbagan disaster.
The report attributed the decision to Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari, who said steps were being taken after learning from the accident. The change places crowd movement and access control at the centre of the immediate response, although the report did not provide further details on the number of police personnel, emergency lanes or medical teams to be deployed at individual venues.
The state government has also decided to scale down its Vijay Sammilani programme scheduled for the 26th. According to the report, the event will be held without the usual ceremonial grandeur. Puja committees are expected to attend, while tributes will be paid to those who died and financial assistance will be handed to injured people.
The eyewitness accounts highlight the operational risks involved in managing large festival crowds inside temporary structures and along narrow access routes. The reported combination of a structural failure, intense crowd movement, limited space and the need for immediate medical assistance has made the safety arrangements at public celebrations an urgent administrative issue.
The next official steps are expected at the meeting on the 26th, when puja committees will be called together and assistance for the injured will be distributed. Further details on the incident, including the final death toll and the arrangements for crowd control at remaining major puja venues, were not provided in the supplied report.
