Stories
Kolkata Stampede: 19 Dead in Durga Puja Marquee Tragedy
- •A tragic stampede at the famous Chorbagan Durga Puja marquee in North Kolkata on Saturday night left 19 people dead and 25 seriously injured.
- •The incident occurred due to a massive, uncontrolled crowd rushing to escape heavy rain in the narrow lanes surrounding the puja venue.
- •The state government announced a financial assistance of 25 lakh rupees and a government job for one family member of each deceased.
- •Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed deep grief, announcing ex-gratia relief from the PMNRF.
- •Kolkata police have detained organizers and security personnel for questioning and issued special helpline numbers for assistance.
Key Questions Answered
The stampede occurred on Saturday evening during heavy rain when an uncontrolled, massive crowd of devotees rushed toward the narrow entry and exit gates of the pandal. Insufficient crowd management, narrow lanes, and lack of lighting also contributed to the tragedy, resulting in 19 fatalities and several injuries.
The West Bengal state government announced financial assistance of 25 lakh rupees each to the next of kin of the deceased, a government job for one family member, and full coverage of medical treatment costs for the injured. Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of two lakh rupees for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
Kolkata police detained 12 individuals, including puja organizers, private security guards, and on-duty personnel, for questioning regarding crowd mismanagement. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that a Fact-Finding Committee or SIT led by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, comprising members from the STF and CID, will thoroughly investigate the incident.
