Chorbagan Sarbojonin’s Lakshmi Puja was held in a 5ft by 5ft roadside space in north Kolkata on Sunday, after police barred entry to the club’s main Durga Puja pandal following the October 17 stampede that claimed 19 lives. The restricted celebration marked a sharp departure from the 91-year-old club’s usual arrangements.
The puja had traditionally been held inside the Durga Puja pandal and had grown into one of north Kolkata’s largest Lakshmi Puja gatherings over the past three years. This year, the idol was installed beside the entrance to the main pandal, at the location where organisers had set up a club stage during Durga Puja.
The same area had been intended as a point from which organisers could monitor crowd movement. It had also been used for people from the administration and the club’s 180 members. Following the stampede, however, the venue was placed under police restrictions and access to the main pandal was stopped after immersion was completed on Saturday.
Abhishek Hore, the club’s joint secretary, said the police had earlier allowed only the priest and three women to enter the pandal to access the Durga idol. Once immersion was over, the club had to move the Lakshmi Puja to the space permitted by the police, he said.
“The police had allowed the priest and three women access to the Durga idol till Saturday. But now that immersion is over, entry into the main pandal has been barred. Hence, we had to hold the Lakshmi Puja at a spot allowed by cops,” Hore said. He added that the priest began the rituals around 5pm and that residents were informed about the changed venue at short notice.
The change turned what is normally a large neighbourhood gathering into a subdued event. Residents assembled in small numbers to offer prayers, while the streets around the venue remained affected by the grief and scrutiny that followed the stampede. The usual lighting and crowds associated with the festival were absent.
“Every year, this street is decorated with lights, and we all gather inside the pandal for Lakshmi Puja. Today, seeing the idol on a small platform is heartbreaking. But we understand the sensitivity of the situation,” local resident Sovon Banerjee said.
Another resident said the tragedy had altered the neighbourhood’s activities, with some young men still staying away from the area. The resident said the community wanted the religious rituals to continue while allowing the police investigation to proceed.
The club also organises Jagaddhatri Puja, but residents said its future remains uncertain after the restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the stampede. The immediate arrangements for that event were not specified in the report. For Sunday’s Lakshmi Puja, the rituals concluded quietly at the small roadside platform, with a single conch shell marking the end of the ceremony.
