The Kolkata pandal stampede at north Kolkata’s Chorbagan Durga Puja venue killed 19 people and injured 25 after heavy rain triggered a rush for shelter inside a crowded installation on Saturday evening. Videos recorded a day earlier showed revellers breaching barricades and tussling with police, highlighting the crowd pressure that had built up at the venue before the tragedy.
The stampede occurred around 7.30pm, when a spell of rain intensified after visitors had gathered in and around the pandal located inside the narrow Radha Madhab Saha Lane. Thousands were reportedly waiting to enter, with the queue extending to Central Avenue. Visitors who had completed their visit were unable to leave as others pressed forward seeking shelter from the rain.
Eyewitnesses said people began falling near a flight of stairs close to the exit as the crowd surged. Some visitors escaped, while local residents dismantled part of the pandal to pull people out. The installation required visitors to descend from an upper deck to a lower level near the exit, a layout that investigators are examining as part of the crowd movement and evacuation sequence.
The Chorbagan pandal was one of the city’s biggest crowd-pullers and had been adjudged among the state government’s three ‘Serar-sera’ pujas this year. Temporary restrictions on crowd movement had been imposed several times during the four days before the incident, but accounts from the area indicated that these measures did not prevent crowd pressure from building up.
Relatives and eyewitnesses alleged that volunteers, police personnel and organisers struggled to respond after the crush began. Ram Sarkar, whose wife Arati died, said the venue was dark and packed, and that it took more than an hour to arrange an ambulance after he found her motionless. Other families said injured people were transported to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital in private cars and taxis because emergency arrangements were inadequate.
The hospital’s emergency department received victims from about 8pm and remained under pressure as injured people continued to arrive. Police restricted access to parts of the hospital while relatives searched for missing family members and sought information about those admitted or declared dead.
Police have detained 14 people, including organisers of the Chorbagan Durga Puja, for questioning. Investigators are examining CCTV footage, speaking to the puja committee, police personnel and crowd-management workers, and seeking the list of security guards and other staff deployed at the venue. A forensic team visited the pandal late on Saturday night.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the hospital and met families of the deceased. He said an initial assessment suggested that an announcement by the puja committee may have contributed to the incident and said the investigation would establish whether organisers, homeguards, temporary workers, police personnel or private security guards had failed in their duties. The state government announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for the next of kin of each person who died, along with Rs 5 lakh for every injured person.
H R Biswas, deputy director general of meteorology, said the rain was linked to the retreating monsoon. A weather official said the downpour made the ground soggy and affected footing, while lasting more than 45 minutes and adding to the crowd pressure.
Following the incident, several major Kolkata pujas were asked to temporarily stop admitting visitors. Tala Pratyay, Alipore Sarbojanin, Chetla Agrani and Ballygunge Sarbojonin were among the venues affected, while Allen Park cancelled its show. Santosh Mitra Square reduced visitor numbers, and major pujas in Salt Lake were also asked to stop entry as arrangements were reviewed. Authorities were expected to assess crowd-management systems with organisers before deciding when the venues could reopen.
