Kolkata: None responsible for the Chorbagan stampede that claimed 19 lives will be shielded, CM Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday, adding that the state will make the probe panel’s findings along with its safety recommendations public. He also hinted at convening a meeting of Durga Puja organisers as early as Jan-end to chalk out steps to prevent similar incidents during next year’s festival.Asserting that this year’s Durga Puja has taught the state an important lesson in religious responsibility and peaceful coexistence, Adhikari said people have realised that responsibility to protect one’s religion rests with each individual.“Dharma jar jar, utsab sabar (religion is specific to individuals, festival is for all). But religion is personal, and the responsibility to protect one’s religion is one’s own. Everyone in West Bengal has understood this during this year’s Durga Puja. This is the new West Bengal, the West Bengal of change,” the CM said at a Bijoya Sammilani event attended by representatives of 6,000 puja committees at Milan Mela Prangan. The usual fanfare associated with such a programme was scaled down in view of the Chorbagan tragedy.Expressing profound grief over the deaths and describing the incident as “deeply distressing”, Adhikari said, “The inquiry into the Chorbagan tragedy has been entrusted with a retired judge following Calcutta High Court Chief Justice’s advice. The govt will not shield anyone. The recommendations on safety and security will be compiled in the form of a booklet and given to puja organisers.”Taking a dig at the previous Mamata Banerjee-led govt, he said, “I will not refer to the tragedy as either a small incident or a conspiracy.”Citing large gatherings expected during Chhath and the popularity of Kali Puja in Naihati and Barasat, Jagaddhatri Puja in Krishnanagar and Chandernagore and Kartik Puja in Hooghly’s Bansberia, the CM said the administration will work to keep the remaining festivals incident-free. He sought cooperation of the organisers and other stakeholders to ensure that lessons from Chorbagan translate into adoption of concrete safety measures.Adhikari is likely to hold a meeting with Kali Puja organisers on Wednesday on security parameters.The CM claimed apart from the Chorbagan tragedy, this year’s Durga Puja celebrations were conducted in a disciplined manner and immersions held without any restrictions. He cited examples of certain locations in Murshidabad, East Midnapore, South 24 Parganas, Malda, Diamond Harbour and North Dinajpur to claim that immersion processions proceeded peacefully in these areas unlike previous years.“I do not blame any community. I blame those who were in the administration earlier and surrendered,” he said, asserting that people from different communities cooperated during the festival.Adhikari also addressed the controversy over the transfer of 25 people injured in the Chorbagan stampede from govt hospitals to private facilities. “There was no failure here. The services at private hospitals are better than those at govt hospitals. We did not keep patients in govt hospitals out of ego or by saying ‘we are no less than anyone else’,” he said.
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