Chhath Puja security has been strengthened across Bengal after two state ministers directed police and district administrations to prevent a repeat of the Chorebagan stampede in Calcutta, in which 19 people died during Durga Puja last month. Officials announced crowd-monitoring and emergency-management measures ahead of Chhath Puja and Kali Puja events.
The instructions were issued during administrative meetings held in Malda and Jalpaiguri on Monday to review preparations for the upcoming festivals. The measures include public announcements to prevent panic, closer monitoring of crowded river ghats and additional controls at Kali Puja pandals and immersion sites.
Gouri Shankar Ghosh, the state minister for libraries and mass education extension, said the police and administration had taken lessons from the Chorebagan incident. He said preventive arrangements were being made to protect visitors during Kali Puja and Chhath Puja, when large crowds are expected at religious venues and ghats.
Ghosh also alleged that opposition political forces could attempt to disrupt religious functions and create difficulties for the BJP government in Bengal. He said the administration suspected sabotage in the Chorebagan incident, but the supplied report does not cite any confirmed investigation finding establishing that claim. His comments drew criticism from Opposition leaders.
“We suspect there was sabotage in Chorebagan. Those who do not have public support are attempting to put the government in trouble. Anti-state forces have come together,” Ghosh told reporters after the Malda meeting. He said authorities would take preventive action against anyone attempting to disrupt the festivals.
The minister said awareness announcements were being made to ensure that devotees did not panic if rumours or alarming messages circulated among large gatherings. He added that large numbers of people gather at the ghats on the evening before Chhath Puja and again early the following morning, and said the administration would ensure security during the celebrations and idol immersion.
In Jalpaiguri, state school education minister Dipak Barman said drones would be deployed to monitor crowds and support people management at Chhath Puja ghats across the district. The use of aerial monitoring is intended to give officials a broader view of crowd movement at locations where congestion can build quickly around access routes, riverbanks and worship areas.
Barman also said Kali Puja organisers had been directed to appoint a responsible committee member to make public announcements and manage visitors at pandals. Additional emergency exit gates have been made mandatory, according to the report. These requirements place part of the immediate crowd-management responsibility on local organisers, alongside the police and district administration.
The Chorebagan incident has also triggered a political dispute over administrative accountability. Biswajit Ghosh, a Trinamool Congress leader aligned with the Mamata Banerjee faction, said the administration had failed during the incident and was using allegations against political opponents to deflect from that failure. CPM leader Debjyoti Sinha also criticised the minister’s remarks, saying the government was making irrelevant comments after the tragedy.
The immediate operational focus for the authorities is the management of crowds at ghats, pandals and immersion points, including clear announcements, monitored movement and accessible emergency exits. The next public test of these arrangements will come during Kali Puja and Chhath Puja events across the state.
