At least 18 people were literally trampled to death, and another 25 were critically injured in a stampede inside a North Central Kolkata Durga Puja pandal on Saturday.
Another 40 people were being rushed to the hospital with various degrees of injuries, sources said.
The incident happened after hundreds of devotees got trapped inside the pandal following a brief shower that led to a suffocating jam at both the entry and exit gates, locals said. The injured were immediately rushed to the nearby Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared 17 as “brought dead.” The incident occurred at about 8 pm, sources said.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay rushed to the hospital to assess the situation, a senior police officer said.
Usually Kolkata overflows with pandal hoppers from Tritiya (third day) to Dashami (tenth day), with 40 to 50 lakh people walking down the streets 24x7.
Though no official statement came from any quarter, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said the exit gate for the common people was far narrower than the one marked for the VVIPs.
“As rains came lashing, people tried to enter the pandal while those who were already inside it could not be moved out. Several thousand of them were there, many queuing up outside the pandal, as the pressure increased, many suffocated and fell, with others literally trampling over them to get out of the pandal. The locals had to pull down the hoardings and billboards to pull the victims out,” a local said.
Meanwhile, the State Government released a helpline: 1800-345-5678 and 033 22141310 for the victims’ kin to seek assistance.
President, PM Express Grief
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in a stampede in Kolkata and extended her heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Kolkata stampede is extremely distressing and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
“The stampede in Kolkata is extremely distressing. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said in a post on X. Modi announced that the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund will provide an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each person who lost their life and Rs 50,000 to each injured person.
At least 18 people are feared dead in a stampede following a crowd surge at a community Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening.