Kolkata pandal crowd control measures were tightened during Ashtami and Navami after a stampede at Chorebagan killed 19 visitors and injured several others, prompting police to restrict photography, check emergency exits and seek updated safety details from puja committees across the city.
At several pandals, organisers asked visitors to keep moving through the sanctum sanctorum instead of stopping to photograph idols or theme installations. At Maddox Square, police warned that mobile phones could be confiscated if picture-taking or selfies obstructed the movement of visitors. The phones, according to the public announcement, would have to be collected later from the nearest police station after proof of ownership was produced.
“Do not wait for long inside the pandal clicking pictures on your mobile. The phones will be confiscated. You will have to collect them later from the nearest police station after showing proof of ownership,” the announcement said at Maddox Square on Monday night. The announcements continued into the early hours of Tuesday as police managed large crowds.
Animesh Chattopadhyay, a member of the Maddox Square Puja committee, said police had asked organisers to make the announcements after inspecting arrangements at the venue. The directions were intended to prevent visitors from stopping inside crowded spaces and slowing the flow of people through the pandal.
Police also directed puja committees to ensure that pandal exits were wider and remained free of stalls. The instructions were aimed at facilitating emergency evacuation, particularly as visitor numbers rose during the festival period.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials separately contacted organisers of several pujas held in city parks during the early hours of Monday to verify the number of operational exit gates and review safety arrangements. A senior member of a north Calcutta puja committee said officials called at around 1.30am and asked the organisers to provide the exit information again, although it had already been included in the application submitted to obtain permission for the puja.
The checks followed the Chorebagan stampede on Saturday evening, described in the report as unprecedented in Calcutta’s recent years of festive celebrations. Nineteen visitors were killed and several others were injured in the incident, prompting authorities to focus on crowd movement and evacuation capacity at other major pujas.
Large crowds continued to visit pandals on Navami. In north Kolkata, Kumartuli Park, Kashi Bose Lane, Hatibagan Sarbojanin and Nalin Sarkar Street reported heavy footfall, according to the police. Popular pujas around Gariahat, Rashbehari, Tollygunge and Behala in south Kolkata were also packed.
The density of visitors affected movement beyond the pandals. A senior police officer said traffic had to wait longer because it took more time for people to cross roads from one side to the other. The combination of packed streets, queues and slow movement inside venues placed additional pressure on police and organisers managing access and exits.
The immediate response has therefore involved both visitor behaviour and venue design: reducing stoppages caused by photography, keeping passageways clear, widening exits and rechecking the number of gates available for evacuation. Further crowd-control arrangements remain with the police, puja committees and civic authorities as large visitor flows continue across Kolkata.
