Chandannagar Jagaddhatri Puja preparations have moved into a high-security phase ahead of a reported visit by Suvendu Adhikari on November 13, but the central claim about his office and attendance requires official verification before the programme can be treated as confirmed.
The report by Anandabazar – West Bengal says Adhikari is expected to be present in Chandannagar on the fourth day of the festival and attend an inaugural event modelled on a light-and-sound programme held at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens before Durga Puja. It also says he may visit an idol at the city’s Adi Ma puja in Haldarpara.
The report does not provide an official itinerary, government notice or direct statement confirming the visit. It also describes Adhikari as the chief minister, a designation that needs to be checked against an authoritative government or political office record before publication as an established fact. The supplied material therefore supports reporting the plan as a claim attributed to the source, not as a confirmed schedule.
Preparatory inspections were reportedly conducted on Tuesday by Hooghly District Magistrate Khursid Ali Qadri, Chandannagar Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Yadav, Chandannagar MLA Dipanjan Guha, the subdivisional officer and other police and administrative officials. The areas that the reported visitor may attend were examined as part of the preparations.
The proposed programme is expected to include changes to Chandannagar’s Strand Road. According to the report, the route may be decorated with images of revolutionaries, alpana designs and different forms of lighting. The area identified for the decoration does not itself host a puja, the report says.
Crowd management has become a central concern for the festival after a reported crowd-crush incident at Kolkata’s Chorbagan during Durga Puja in which 19 people died. Chandannagar’s civil society had earlier submitted a memorandum with signatures to the local police station, seeking suitable arrangements to manage the expected visitor turnout during Jagaddhatri Puja.
A Chandannagar Police Commissionerate official, quoted by Anandabazar, said arrangements were being made to facilitate visitors and keep emergency services functioning normally. The official also said that suggestions from civil society would be considered and that new approaches to crowd management were being examined in light of the Chorbagan incident.
The Chandannagar Central Jagaddhatri Puja Committee has said the festival generally does not operate a VIP-card system that gives preferential access to pandals. Committee representatives described the event as organised and said planning for the following year begins after each festival concludes.
A committee office-bearer also said that three meetings with the administration on security arrangements had taken place before Durga Puja. The discussions reportedly covered crowd-control measures for the expected turnout as well as procedures to be used if attendance exceeds initial estimates.
The next confirmed step in the supplied report is the continuation of administrative and police preparations before the festival. Confirmation of the reported November 13 visit, the visitor’s official designation and the final route and security plan remain pending.
