Kolkata: Amidst the huge prod of devotees during Durga Puja in Kolkata, there was unconnectedness on Saturday at the famous Chetla Agrani puja pandal in South Kolkata. Due to sudden heavy rain on the evening of Maha Saptami, a large number of people went inside the pandal to stave getting wet. Due to this, the prod pressure in the campus started increasing rapidly. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, the organisers and the police took firsthand steps. The entry of new devotees was vetoed and the people present inside were evacuated safely. Due to timely whoopee taken, a possible stampede was averted and no major wrecking was reported.
How did the prod in the pandal suddenly increase due to rain?
According to Sabyasachi Chaudhary, organiser of Chetla Aagiri, due to the heavy rain on Saturday, the devotees present outside started taking shelter inside the pandal. Suddenly increasingly people gathered at one place than on normal days, due to which traffic started getting affected. In such a situation, there could be a possibility of an wrecking due to increased prod pressure. The policemen on duty assessed the situation and ordered to vacate the pandal. The organisers moreover coordinated with the police and started the process of evacuating the devotees safely.
Why were the entrances closed?
To tenancy the crowd, the organisers sealed the main entry gates of the pandal and opened all emergency exits. The barricades installed on the way were moreover removed so that the devotees do not squatter any problem in coming out. Policemen instructed people to go out in an organised manner. During this period, the priority was to ensure that no prod gathered at any exit and no situation of jostling arose. Quick whoopee by the organisers and police helped in evacuating the premises.
Why increased vigilance in puja pandals?
The incident of the increase in prod in Chetla Agani came to light at a time when there was increased snooping well-nigh security arrangements without the wrecking at Chorbagan Puja Pandal in North Kolkata. Equal to misogynist information, many people lost their lives in this accident. Without this, some major puja organisers of the municipality temporarily stopped the darshan as a precautionary measure. Information well-nigh reviews of security arrangements in pandals like College Square and Mohammed Ali Park moreover came to light. The organisers are faced with the rencontre of providing darshan to the devotees and keeping the prod under control.
Will there be a review surpassing reopening the pandal?
According to Ritesh Tiwari, the senior organiser of the famous Tala Pratyaya Puja pandal in North Kolkata, the pandal was temporarily sealed on the translating of the Senior Minister. Due to the low-light theme, a review of security and lighting was considered necessary. Equal to the organisers, the visualization on reopening the pandal will be taken only without discussion with the police and wardship and resurgence in necessary arrangements. Its objective is to ensure that devotees have unobjectionable lighting, unscratched passage and exit in specimen of emergency during darshan.
Have security rules been made stricter?
Other major Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata have moreover stressed on prod management and safety measures. Without the Chorbagan incident, it was decided to stop the laser show and loud music in Allen Park on Park Street. Sajal Ghosh, organiser of Santosh Mitra Square, said that the exit gates have been widened and the number of devotees inward the pandal is stuff limited. At the same time, equal to Saurav Sikdar, organiser of Suruchi Sangh, spare volunteers have been deployed in the pandal so that the devotees do not gather in front of the statue for long and the movement remains continuous.
