Kolkata, Nov 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) In the wake of the stampede tragedy at the community Durga Puja pandal of Chorbagan Sarbojanin in north Kolkata, which left 19 people dead, the West Bengal administration has issued a new set of pandal guidelines for the forthcoming Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja festivals in the state.
As per the standard operating procedure issued by the state administration, the focus had been laid on three broad areas, namely fire prevention, crowd management, and lighting arrangements within the pandal premises.
"The dim light arrangement for the sake of the Puja theme of Chorbagan became a hindrance to effective crowd management within the pandal premises. So, keeping that in mind, the organisers of community Kali Puja and community Jagadhatri Puja had been given clear instructions for maintaining adequate lighting arrangements within the pandal premises," a state government official said.
He also said that the community Puja committees have been instructed to make provisions for adequate lighting arrangements not only inside the pandal premises but also at the entrance and exit gates of the pandals.
The committees have also been instructed to make the entrance and exit gates adequately broad for the convenience of the devotees visiting those pandals, the official said.
In the standard operating procedure, the state administration had given special importance to crowd control and directed the Puja committees to assign adequate volunteers in line with the expected number of visitors.
"To avoid overcrowding in the pandal premises, the devotees waiting outside should be allowed to enter the pandal premises only after the devotees already present within the pandal go out. This would prevent pressure of devotees inside the pandal from going out of control in any way. Ambulances should be provided at major pujas, and first aid facilities should be provided at each pandal," the state government official said.
The standard operating procedure had also focussed on prevention of fire incidents. According to it, the puja committees have been instructed to keep fire extinguishers within the pandal. At the same time, in case of fire, the state Fire Services Department has been instructed to ensure that the fire tenders reach the spot of fire within 15 minutes from the time of receiving the information.
Source: IANS
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