Kolkata: Cops on Tuesday questioned Durga Puja theme artist Susanta Shibani Paul at Lalbazar in connection with the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojonin pandal that left 19 people dead on Oct 17.
Regarding the weight-bearing capacity of the pandal, Paul asserted that the physical setup was structurally sound and designed to safely hold up to 800 visitors simultaneously. “According to the original plan, from the 12th to the 14 of Oct, the lighting was kept as per our original plan.
Sources said that so far, footage of only one of the three CCTV cameras has been retrieved from the entrance. Structurally, there was nothing wrong; otherwise, the consequences could have been far worse,” said Paul. From the afternoon of the 16th, all the lights were switched on,” Paul had said.
Prima facie, cops are focusing on three crucial minutes in which the entire stampede was triggered. “Since people would be walking over the emergency gate towards the idol, it was reinforced with iron. Paul had also rejected allegations that poor lighting inside the pandal contributed to the fatal chaos, clarifying that high-intensity illumination had been turned on hours prior to the tragedy. But when the administration saw the surging crowd, they asked the committee to keep all the lights on round the clock. We used metal lighting along the walking areas. The incident happened on the 17th.