West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday met the families of three people killed in the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede in north Kolkata and handed them ex gratia compensation of Rs 25 lakh each (yaani: twenty-five lakh rupees to each family), news agency PTI reported.
Nineteen people were killed and 25 others injured in the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal on Saturday evening.
Adhikari first visited the family of Togor Bej, 37, and her son in the Madhavdighi area of Purba Bardhaman district and assured them of all possible assistance. "I have no words to console you, nor do I have the power to bring back those who have left us. I can feel your pain. I am handing over Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to you," Adhikari told the family, according to PTI.
The Chief Minister later met the family of Piyali Pramanik at Arambagh in Hooghly district. Pramanik, who was Togor Bej's sister-in-law, was also killed in the stampede. Adhikari handed over the compensation cheque and paid tribute to her, ANI reported.
"I am with you all. Do not worry. Unlike the previous government, we believe not in words but in action," he told Pramanik's family.
The state government had earlier announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for the family of each person killed, and Rs 5 lakh for each injured person, with the state bearing the full cost of treatment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Speaking to the media, Adhikari said the chief secretary had written to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on Monday seeking the nomination of a judge to investigate the stampede, and added that no representative of Kolkata Police or the Kolkata Municipal Corporation had been included in the inquiry team because the incident took place within their jurisdiction. The Calcutta High Court has since directed that the inquiry commission be headed by a retired judge.
Sources: PTI, ANI.