A five-day plan
Kolkata: The Barasat District Police and administration have tightened safety protocols for Kali Puja to prevent a repeat of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin stampede which claimed 19 lives. At an emergency coordination meeting at Barasat Rabindra Bhavan on Monday, police announced a crowd-management and traffic-control plan for the five-day celebrations from Nov 7 to 11.
The administration has issued instructions to organisers to ensure adequate entry and exit routes for visitors and strengthen overall crowd-management measures,” a senior district official said. Following the tragedy, senior officials, including south Bengal ADG Rajesh Kumar Singh and Barasat SP J Mercy, conducted multi-phase inspections of major pandals. “Senior police officers, PWD engineers and other administrative officials are making repeated visits to the popular puja pandals to inspect their infrastructure and safety arrangements.