I am absolutely furious.

17 people dead. 35+ injured. In a split second, a festival of joy turned into an absolute nightmare at Sarada Park (Chor Bagan), and for what?

A sudden spell of rain?

Rain during Durga Puja is not new to Kolkata. What is new, or rather, a recurring curse, is the pathetic lack of basic safety infrastructure.

How does a major pandal pulling thousands of people every single hour not have proper, wide exit routes?

Why was the lighting so terrible that people couldn't even see where they were running?

Where the hell were the volunteers and crowd management teams when things started going south?

Every single year, clubs compete for the biggest budgets, the most lavish themes, and the highest footfall. They brag about lakhs of visitors, but when it comes to basic human safety, they pinch pennies.

The organizers, the civic authorities, and the planners who approved this setup have blood on their hands.

We talk so proudly about our culture and hospitality, yet we fail at the absolute bare minimum: keeping our citizens alive.

My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones tonight over incompetence.

We need accountability, safety mandates, and criminal charges for organizers who treat human lives like cattle.

Stay safe out there, Kolkata, because no one else is looking out for us.

Other pandals are closing too btw. It can’t get worse than this.

This is a viral video thats doing the rounds, from a person that was there during the Chorbagan stampede

Some clarification: I skipped voting last time because frankly I didn't want another easy TMC win.

But what happened today I am regretting my decision. 20 deaths from a stampede at a Pujo organised by a BJP man with the CMs 'bhaipo' as a committee member.

There are flyers of BJPs win which are still lying around near the Howrah bridge, and power has already got to their heads. Utter carelessness.

I even saw a video of amit shah walking around somewhere with dhaki and sanai in the background after the incident.

Dehatis outside colleges with bhagwa flags. The kind of vulgar statement the CM makes about other people. Platforming that anti-Bangali bigot bagheshwar baba.

Is this what we have to endure till the next elections?

BJP already has a somewhat moderate candidate, Agnimitra Paul, who was about to become CM. Even tho we all saw the bridge incident.

Kicking away Suvendu Adhikari should be a no brainer.

Don't make them get away from this disaster. Hope ABP doesn't delete the facts.

Source in case it gets deleted - https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/kolkata/stampede-like-situation-reportedly-in-kolkata-chorbagan-pujo-dgtl/cid/1720441

https://x.com/chhuti_is/status/2111514621236633850

By god’s grace I was just 1-2 min away from entering the Pandel when the chaos happened

It started because of a fight apparently (ppl were backing off , when we asked them why they said ppl were fighting badly inside)

Because of the fights inside , a lot of ppl were hurrying which caused the stampede.

It was raining heavily ,Now the Pandel is extremely small and the path towards the Pandel was also very small compared to the crowd. Even in that path ppl were going towards the Pandel and coming back , there was an alternative path to the Pandel which was a literal road but idk why it blocked and barricaded (even if it’s literally raining heavily , how can ppl walk in that conjugated lane)

Now when the situation became serious I saw a lot of ppl carrying children and calling out their parent’s names, thank god to those ppl for showing kindness and acting fast to keep the children’s away from that place as soon as possible.

A lot of ppl kept shouting that why isn’t the police inside , they literally went inside later and were unable to reach the fight site as ofc there is already a crowd blocking them. Why wasn’t any police inside for safety but just outside the Pandel?

now ,A kid was crying outside the Pandel saying her brother was inside. Me and my friends were looking for a police nearby, we said him that she is alone and is lost please guide us what to do. He said “ekhon ki korbo” arre atleast keep her in ur police booth nearby or say any nearby shop vendor to do that ,

He just said “Pandel er pashe thakuk” wtf , later on some other ppl said that their friend was also stuck inside the Pandel and hence they are waiting so to let the kid stay with her and that we should get away from the region as it’s not safe so ya we went away from place asap

I hate the person who said “Ami ki korbo” , just do ur fucking job

কে দায়ী হবে এই ঘটনার জন্যে ??
The visuals are harrowing

একটা ৭ বছরের বাচ্চাও মারা গেছে

This year puja has very less lightings, decoration stuffs and now this chorbagan incident..

They spoiled the already fun lacked festival this year

Literally ruined the biggest festival of west bengal..

Traffic police were just sitting on chair and let the young volunteers to do all the work..

TMC was chor, daku but atleast they did durga puja on a very big scale. I personally had very big expectations from the new government. The best they did is the eden garden event only for durga puja

Source: https://tv9bangla.com/kolkata/cpim-book-stall-allegedly-attacked-in-entally-former-minister-debesh-das-injured-1354094.html/amp

It's truly baffling to read posts urging people to not 'politicise' these deaths. The death of 17 people is a reflection of the lacuna of the ruling dispensation. The police and the administration are not bodies independent of the political atmosphere. They are reflections of the political scenario & their behaviour is linked to the ushering in of the new government. If there is a failure, blame squarely falls on the administration. Today, when Chorebagan & pujos were understaffed, a huge RAF force was deployed to destroy book stalls. A large section of the security, was diverted for the visit of the HM. Thus, the mismanagement and the stampede were a consequence of the police deployment. Subsequently, the response was pathetic as good samaritans came together to transport taxis for the injured and unconscious (or worse). The same pattern played out in Delhi, where the first response was non-existent. Private ambulances from Blinkit stepped in to fill the gap.

For this adminstration, the consolidation of their rule remains the primary aim and the death of 17 or so innocent lives is an acceptable casualty for them. Kolkata has seen crowds bigger than this, cloud bursts more severe than this drizzle.

Recognise these people who wail against politicisation of these deaths as collaborators and supporters of this administration that took away these people from their families. When a young man saw life squeezed out of his mother, when happiness were washed away wasn't your religiosity hurt?

The value of a life, has been reduced to a number & a figure (some lakhs the 'honourable' PM has decided to donate to these aggrieved families). But will money bring back the dead?

Today, people who are 'first in their bloodline' to see Durga puja and defend this will continue to do so for the most heinous crimes, till it happens to them. I'm ashamed, angry & saddened at what has happened today, because in my life of 20 odd years this festival has been never marked by blood. This is only the first year of a long and arduous five years ahead.

Source - https://x.com/ANI/status/2111521111066423746

The situation was so severe that the Pandel was on verge of collapse as announced in the speaker

I was already out of the Pandel region so idk what happened later , but it was literally uncontrollable.

Ppl kept coming near the Pandel even after several announcements that ppl should be away from Pandel region

Idk y tf there is no news abt it as of now

We were one of those unlucky ones who happen to stay close to a mega puja (this is Tridhara from our window). Our life has come to a complete standstill. We cannot have medicines or essentials delivered, nor can we go out to buy things without getting stopped at every road corner. The police are completely untrained and don’t pay heed to residents pass. And then people blowing the annoying vuvuzela’s. So as you have fun, have a little empathy, spare a thought to all the octogenarians and nonagenarians who are now the principal inhabitants of this part of Kolkata.

Several dead Reported*

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/stampede-like-situation-at-kolkatas-chorbagan-puja-pandal-after-section-collapses-several-injured-3019834-2026-10-17