The Bengal government will review crowd management, security and emergency preparedness for Kali Puja and Chhath Puja at a meeting on October 28, days after a stampede at Kolkata’s Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal killed 19 people, officials said.
The meeting will be held at the state secretariat and is expected to be attended through video conferencing by district magistrates, superintendents of police and other senior administrative officials from several districts. According to a senior official quoted by PTI, the review will focus on preventing accidents during the upcoming festivals, which draw large gatherings across Bengal.
Officials are expected to examine arrangements at major Kali Puja pandals, including entry and exit routes, emergency services and lighting. Disaster-management measures are also likely to be discussed, along with coordination between departments responsible for policing, civic administration, health services and emergency response.
Kali Puja will be held on November 8 this year. Barasat and Naihati in North 24 Parganas district, and Krishnanagar in Nadia district, are among the locations known for large-scale celebrations. The size of these gatherings makes the management of pedestrian movement, access routes and emergency exits a central operational concern for local administrations.
Chhath Puja will begin on November 13 and is celebrated on a large scale in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Siliguri, Durgapur and Asansol. The review will also cover arrangements at ghats, where large numbers of devotees gather during festival observances. Officials said the administration would assess safety arrangements at these locations as part of the wider preparations.
The announcement follows the fatal incident at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, where 19 people died in a stampede. The incident has placed renewed attention on the capacity of public authorities and event organisers to regulate access, manage crowd movement and respond quickly when an emergency occurs.
The state’s review is expected to bring district-level officials into a common planning process before the festivals begin. The official quoted by PTI said the administration wanted the celebrations to pass off peacefully and would prioritise inter-departmental coordination and measures to prevent accidents. Further details of the arrangements are expected to emerge from the October 28 meeting.
