KOLKATA: At least 17 people were killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday night, during the festival that draws millions to the city’s pandals.
Eyewitnesses said the pandal was heavily crowded on a weekend evening, with people queuing for about an hour and a half to get in. When heavy rain began, those waiting outside rushed toward the entrance for shelter, even as the pandal was already packed inside. The surge at the gate caused some people to fall, others fell on top of them, and the situation quickly spun out of control. Many people lost consciousness, and some of the injured were taken to hospital on motorcycles.
Witnesses said both the entry and exit gates were narrow and that the area was poorly lit. These accounts have not been confirmed by authorities.
Sonu Pal, 25, who lost his mother in the crush, said he watched her die. “My mother died before my eyes,” he said, adding that he might not have survived either. He said people outside pushed one another to escape the rain, and that he was caught in the crowd. When he got free and went back to where his mother had been, he could not find her.
The tragedy has drawn comparisons with a crowd build-up on Oct. 18, 2015, at Deshapriya Park in south Kolkata, where an 88-foot Durga idol attracted huge crowds on a Sunday. Thousands tried to enter at once, people were pushed and fell, and some struggled to breathe. At least 11 people were injured. In both cases, heavy crowds and inadequate crowd control were identified as the main problem.