Kolkata has tightened security and disaster-response arrangements for Durga idol immersion after a stampede at a Chorebagan puja pandal killed 19 people, with 18 IPS officers assigned to supervise immersions across the city and three neighbouring police commissionerates until October 24.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari reviewed preparations at Babughat on Wednesday in the presence of city police commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand and municipal commissioner Smita Pandey. He said the administration had strengthened arrangements in view of both security concerns and the religious significance of the immersion rituals.
Adhikari said the police had been instructed to maintain the identification of people who would carry idols into the Hooghly. He said only followers of “Sanatan Dharma” would be allowed to touch the Durga idols, and described the decision as a matter of religion rather than a communal issue.
The administration has arranged trolleys instead of cranes after complaints about the earlier system, according to Adhikari. The National Disaster Response Force has also been included in this year’s arrangements to respond to emergencies during the immersion process. Police, disaster management authorities and the municipal corporation may seek assistance from other agencies, including the Port Trust, if required.
The chief minister said the water would be cleaned after the immersion process concludes on October 24. After visiting Babughat, he reviewed preparations at ghats on the Howrah side of the Hooghly from a boat.
The arrangements also cover Taki in North 24 Parganas district, where large numbers of spectators are expected to travel by country boats to watch idol immersion in the Ichamati river. Adhikari said at least 200 boats were expected to carry spectators. The administration had attempted to discourage the practice but had taken local sentiments into account, he said.
He said precautions included providing life jackets and measures to balance the weight of the boats, but expressed concern because most of the vessels were small country boats, locally known as dingis. The Border Security Force has been brought in to assist with arrangements at Taki. A cabinet minister has been sent to the area, while the deputy inspector general of police of the Barasat range has been assigned responsibility.
The heightened deployment follows the stampede at the Chorebagan Durga Puja pandal on Mahasaptami evening, described in the report as the first fatal incident of its kind during Kolkata’s signature festival. The incident has placed additional pressure on police, civic authorities and disaster-response agencies to manage crowd movement, river access and the safety of spectators during the final phase of the festival.
The current arrangements will remain in place through October 24, when the immersion process is scheduled to conclude.
