Kolkata, Oct 23 (IANS) The forensic report on the pandal of Chorbagan Sarbojanin community Durga Puja in Kolkata, where a tragic stampede on the night of October 17 taking a toll of 19 lives, suggest that there was lack of adequate ventilation and cooling arrangements within the pandal premises.

The forensic report had also suggested that because of the inadequate ventilation and cooling arrangements some kind of claustrophobia might have developed within the pandal at the time of stampede when a large number of people were assembled within the pandal premises.

Sources from the Kolkata Police said that as per the forensic report, a total number of 24 air-conditioning machines with a combined capacity of 139 tonnes were there in the pandal of Chorbagan Sarbojanin this time.

“Considering the size and structure of this year’s pandal, the air-conditioning capacity would have been enough to ensure proper ventilation and cooling arrangements had the footfall been low to medium. However, when the stampede took place the number of devotees present within the pandal premises was quite high and rather much higher than the footfall capacity. Because of the rains outside, the devotees within the pandal were refusing to come out, while the devotees outside tried to rush in the pandal to save themselves from the rain. This made the available ventilation and cooling arrangements inadequate,” a city police insider said.

Meanwhile, it had been decided that finally the idols of Chorbagan Sarbojanin will be immersed on Saturday.

However, the pandal of the said Durga Puja will remain intact until further orders from the state government-appointment judicial probe panel which is conducting a parallel probe in the stampede strategy, besides the one being carried out by a Special Investigation Team of Kolkata Police.

After visiting the said pandal on Thursday, the chairperson of the judicial probe panel, Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati (retired), said that while there was no problem in the immersion of the idols, the pandal will have to be kept intact for the sake of detailed investigation.

She also added that the exit and entry pavilions were pathetically narrow and dim lighting inside the pandal might have also contributed to the confusion.

She also claimed that the emergency exit route was locked when chaos began to unfold on the pandal premises.

–IANS

src/khz