During Durga Puja, the country's biggest festival filled with cultural and spiritual joy, a very heartbreaking and horrifying news has come out from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. This horrific stampede accident (Kolkata Stampede) that took place amidst a huge crowd at the famous Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal located in the northern part of Kolkata on Saturday has shocked the entire country. In this tragic accident, 19 innocent people lost their lives, while more than 25 people were seriously injured, who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals. This painful accident has left everyone's eyes moist, and former Indian cricket team captain and great batsman Sourav Ganguly also appeared very emotional in front of the camera while expressing his condolences on this incident. Let us know in detail what is the entire background of this accident and how the veterans have reacted to it. How this tragic accident happened at the Chorbagan puja pandal in North Kolkata. During the holy days of Durga Puja, people flock to the pandals of West Bengal to have the darshan of the Mother Goddess. On Saturday, a similar scene was seen at a popular Durga Puja pandal located in Chorbagan area of North Kolkata. In the evening, suddenly the crowd of devotees in the pandal increased beyond limits, due to which an atmosphere of great chaos was created there. According to reports, the path and corridor around the pandal were very narrow, due to which the crowd which could not be controlled started creating pressure at one place. The situation became so out of control that a stampede broke out and many people were crushed to death. A total of 19 people lost their lives in this terrible accident, while more than two dozen people were seriously injured. After this accident, there is mourning in the entire area and the families of the victims are crying and in bad condition. Sourav Ganguly's pain, emotional in front of media 'Prince of Kolkata' i.e. Sourav Ganguly, known for his bold decisions and aggressive style on the cricket field, is shaken to the core by this horrific tragedy that occurred in his home state. When the media wanted to know his reaction on this tragic accident, Sourav Ganguly looked very emotional and deep sorrow was clearly visible on his face. While talking to the media, Ganguly said in a very sad voice, "It is very sad, very sad. You people have seen everything, meaning so many people lost their lives. This is a very unfortunate and unimaginable incident for our society and city." In his words, the pain of a common Bengali was clearly visible, who was shocked to see such a deadly disaster during a festival in his own city. Emergency meeting by the Chief Minister and condolences of former cricketer Shikhar Dhawan After this horrific stampede and accident, there has been a stir at the administrative level. Considering the seriousness of the situation, emergency steps were taken and a high-level meeting was called at Kolkata Medical College, in which senior officials and leaders of the administration were present, so that the injured could get the best treatment and concrete security arrangements could be made in such events in future. Not only Sourav Ganguly, but other personalities from the sports world have also expressed deep grief over this tragic incident. India's explosive former opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan shared his condolences on social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "My heart is deeply saddened to hear the news of loss of so many lives in the Kolkata stampede. My deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in this accident. Praying to God to give them strength to bear this loss, and may all the injured get well soon."
Serious questions raised on crowd management and safety. This painful accident has once again raised a big question mark on crowd management and safety standards in big public events, fairs and puja pandals across the country. The police and puja committees need to be more vigilant in controlling the crowd of lakhs of people in areas with narrow streets, so that in future the joy of any festival does not turn into tears like this. This incident of Chorbagan is a serious warning and lesson for the entire country.