Authorities in the city of Kolkata have imposed restrictions in the area around Chor Bagan after a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal killed at least 19 people. 

The order prohibits gatherings of five people or more, processions, public meetings, slogans or public speeches. It will remain in place until October 20.

Similar instructions were imposed in central Delhi and other cities during protests led by India’s Cockroach movement.

In a notification announcing the order, Kolkata police said it had received intelligence warning of a possible law and order problem, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier on Sunday, the city’s police formally arrested seven people in connection with the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojonin Durgotsab Samity Durga Puja pandal.

As per Indian media, at least 19 people have died due to the crush on Saturday evening and several others remain in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has announced an independent investigation into the matter, led by a sitting judge of the city’s high court. 

“We will check the footage and take appropriate measures against those who failed to manage the crowd. That could be a member of the puja committee, a homeguard, a temporary worker, a policeman, or a private company security guard. Nobody will be spared,” West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said. 

The politics of Durga Puja

Stampedes at religious and cultural festivals are not uncommon in India, but Adhikari’s government is under pressure to make the city’s biggest annual festival a hit this year. 

Adhikari belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party which won the state elections in West Bengal for the first time in India’s history, ending former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule there.

The festive season was facing pressure even before it began. Food and fuel inflation, worsened by the conflict in the Middle East and lower than normal rainfall at home, is eating into people’s disposable incomes. 

DW