Kolkata Kali Puja pandals faced structural and crowd-safety corrections after a joint inspection by Kolkata Police and the West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services identified risks at several venues across the city on Wednesday.
The inspection team visited at least seven pandals in north, central, south and southwest Kolkata, examining temporary structures, fire-preparedness measures, entry and exit points, gates, emergency access and crowd-management arrangements. The team was led by Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand and Anuj Sharma, director-general of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services. Fire and emergency services minister Koushik Chowdhury also accompanied the officers.
At Janbazar Sammilita Sri Sri Kali Puja Samity on SN Banerjee Road, officials directed organisers to reduce the height of a 70ft superstructure replicating the Tirupati Balaji temple. The organisers said they had been asked to bring it down to 50ft, a change that would require alterations to the structure shortly before the festival.
“We will definitely try to comply. But the larger concern is how we can reduce the height within such a short period. It will mean altering the entire structure,” said puja organiser and Trinamool Congress MLA Sandipan Saha. He said a clearly defined standard operating procedure on permissible pandal heights and other structural specifications, circulated well in advance, would have helped committees plan their constructions.
The Janbazar committee was also asked to cancel a cultural programme because its stage was positioned in a way that obstructed a thoroughfare. Police said the inspection was not limited to checking fire extinguishers and other firefighting equipment. Officers also assessed whether visitors could enter and leave safely, whether gates were appropriately configured and whether emergency vehicles and evacuation routes could remain unobstructed.
“The focus was not restricted to the availability of fire extinguishers or other firefighting equipment. Officers also inspected the entry and exit points, the height and configuration of gates, the structural arrangements and the provisions for the safe movement of visitors,” a city police officer said.
The inspections followed the Chorebagan tragedy, according to sources cited in the report, and were intended to identify structural lapses and determine whether crowd-management plans needed revision at venues expected to attract large footfall. The exercise began at 11am and covered seven locations.
The first stop was Naba Yubak Sangha on Sitaram Ghosh Street, followed by Amra Sabai Sarbojanin Sri Sri Kali Puja Committee on AJC Bose Road and the Janbazar committee on SN Banerjee Road. The team then visited Baji Bazar at Shahid Minar Maidan, Sree Sree 108 Karunamoyee Kalimata Mandir, popularly known as Lake Kali Bari, on Southern Avenue, Sahanagar Keoratala Sri Smashan Kali Puja Samity on Tollygunge Road and Dakshin Behala Sarbojanin Sree Sree Chamunda Kali Puja on Dakshin Behala Road.
The inspections put the safety of temporary festival infrastructure alongside crowd movement and emergency access, with authorities directing committees to make structural and operational changes before visitors arrive.
