The West Bengal government has tightened festival safety rules for Kali Puja, Diwali, Jagaddhatri Puja, Kartik Puja and Chhath after 19 people were killed in a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata, with Nabanna directing local administrations to strengthen crowd control, fire response, emergency medical care and ghat safety.

Source: Urban Acres (Anandabazar report)

The standard operating procedure follows a security meeting held at Nabanna Sabha Ghar on October 28, chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. A coordination meeting led by Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul later reviewed preparations, and Paul announced the preventive measures under the SOP prepared by her department.

Source: The CSR Journal

No dark pandals, wider gates, controlled entry

Organisers have been told to keep pandals brightly lit inside, at entry and exit points and along all visitor passages, and not to create dark or low-light environments for thematic effect. A government official said the dim lighting used as part of the decorative theme at the Chorbagan pandal had made crowd management difficult. Entry and exit gates must be wide enough to prevent bottlenecks, each pandal must deploy volunteers matching the expected footfall, and the next group of visitors is to be admitted only after the previous group has exited.

Source: Report Wire

Large pujas must keep ambulances and first-aid arrangements at the pandal. Committees must place fire extinguishers inside, and the fire services have been directed to reach an emergency within 10 to 15 minutes. Disaster response personnel may be deployed at large pandals and ghats, life jackets and rescue equipment must be available at ghats, firecrackers are prohibited near pandals, and stalls must not obstruct visitor movement. Police, local administrations and the pollution control board will jointly monitor illegal fireworks, noise and air pollution.

Minister for every district, ghat and Chhath measures

Under the Chief Minister's directive, one minister has been assigned to each district to supervise preparations, and the ministers have been instructed to hold urgent coordination meetings with local MLAs, district magistrates and senior police officers within 24 to 48 hours to review preparedness and identify vulnerable locations. Local administrations were also told to inspect whether every pandal and ghat has safe entry and exit.

Source: The CSR Journal

For Chhath and idol-immersion ghats, municipalities must arrange special cleaning teams, large containers for segregating wet and dry waste, adequate lighting, first-aid facilities and CCTV cameras, and municipal control rooms must remain operational around the clock from the day before the festival until the day after Chhath. The Damodar Valley Corporation and other water-regulating authorities will be requested not to release water during the Chhath observances on the evening of November 15 and the morning of November 16, and the KMDA will arrange mechanised idol immersion at selected ghats.