Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 18 (ANI): Following the Kolkata Puja Pandal stampede, which claimed 19 lives, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday visited the central monitoring facilities to review crowd management amid the festive season.
According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), he reviewed the functioning of the Traffic Control Room with a focus on traffic management, regulation of vehicular movement, and ensuring safe and seamless commuting for the people.
In an X post, Adhikari said, "The safety and well-being of every Citizen remain our utmost priority. To personally assess the ground situation and ensure foolproof crowd management across all major Puja Pandals, I visited the central monitoring facilities today"
He said that he reviewed state-level traffic management, surveillance infrastructure and tactical readiness alongside Senior Officers at the West Bengal Police Traffic Control Room at Araksha Bhawan, Salt Lake.
At Lalbazar Police Control Room, he inspected live citywide CCTV feeds tracking footfall, transit corridors and crowd densities around major Puja Pandals.
The safety and well-being of every Citizen remain our utmost priority. To personally assess the ground situation and ensure foolproof crowd management across all major Puja Pandals, I visited the central monitoring facilities today:- * West Bengal Police Traffic Control Room (Araksha Bhawan, Salt Lake): Reviewed State-level traffic management, surveillance infrastructure and tactical readiness alongside Senior Officers. * Kolkata Police Control Room (Lalbazar): Inspected live citywide CCTV feeds tracking footfall, transit corridors and crowd densities around major Puja Pandals. The Administration and Police Department are constantly reviewing the ground situation and making real time modifications wherever required along with enhanced Police deployment and round-the-clock ground vigilance, ensuring strict compliance with crowd safety regulations by all Puja organizers. I appeal to all Puja Committees and devotees to extend their full cooperation to the Police & Administrative personnel on the ground.
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) October 18, 2026
"The Administration and Police Department are constantly reviewing the ground situation and making real time modifications wherever required along with enhanced Police deployment and round-the-clock ground vigilance, ensuring strict compliance with crowd safety regulations by all Puja organizers. I appeal to all Puja Committees and devotees to extend their full cooperation to the Police & Administrative personnel on the ground," he said.
Earlier in the day, CM Suvendu Adhikari said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would be constituted soon to probe the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata.
The tragic incident occurred at a Durga Puja pandal, where a massive rush of devotees led to a fatal stampede that claimed 19 lives and left several others injured.
The Bankshal Court on Sunday remanded seven people arrested in connection with the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede to police custody for 10 days. Police had sought a 14-day remand.
The defence lawyer, MD Yashim Raheman, claimed the accused were outsiders who had come to witness the Puja celebrations. He added that custody had been granted until the 28th, while police had asked for custody until the 1st.
"We informed the court that these individuals were outsiders; they had come to witness the Durga Puja celebrations. Upon observing the heavy crowding--where many people were in distress--they stepped in to assist with rescue efforts...Regarding the police custody (PC), the court has granted it until the 28th. Everyone has been remanded to police custody until the 28th. The police had requested custody until the 1st, but the judge granted it until the 28th," he told ANI. (ANI)
