Bengal issues Kali Puja SOP after Durga Puja stampede killed 19
Synopsis
After 19 people died in the Chorebagan Durga Puja stampede, West Bengal has moved fast: a joint SOP from the State Home Department and Kolkata Police now makes separate entry-exit routes, incident coordinators, backup lighting, and drone surveillance mandatory for every puja committee ahead of Kali Puja. It is the first formal city-wide crowd-safety mandate for pandal events.
Key Takeaways
West Bengal issued a joint SOP for Kali Puja following the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja stampede that killed 19 visitors .
The SOP mandates completely separate entry and exit routes at every mandap, with visible signboards.
Emergency gates must remain obstacle-free at all times ; keys and locks are prohibited on evacuation paths.
Each puja committee must appoint a dedicated 'incident coordinator' to manage on-ground emergencies.
Kolkata Police will deploy plainclothes officers and monitor pandals via CCTV cameras and aerial drones .
A coordination meeting between police and all puja committee representatives has been scheduled to review implementation.
The West Bengal government has issued a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the upcoming Kali Puja festivities following the deadly stampede at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, which claimed 19 lives. The SOP, jointly released by the State Home Department and Kolkata Police, makes a strict set of safety rules mandatory for every puja committee across the city.
Key Provisions of the New SOP
Under the new guidelines, entry and exit routes to every mandap must be kept completely separate, with clearly visible signboards placed at a distance so visitors can identify them from afar. Puja committees are required to ensure orderly movement into and out of the pandal, and must halt the entry of new visitors immediately if dangerous crowd pressure builds up.
The SOP also mandates that no part of the mandap or its surrounding area be kept dark at any time. Each committee must maintain a backup lighting system to handle power outages without disruption.
Emergency Safety and Crowd Control Measures
Emergency gates and pathways must be kept completely free of obstacles at all times — the guidelines explicitly prohibit the use of keys or locks that could impede evacuation. To prevent panic or the spread of rumours within a crowd, all public announcements must be made on loudspeakers in 'calm, clear and specific language', according to the SOP.
Each puja committee has been directed to appoint a dedicated 'incident coordinator' responsible for managing emergencies on the ground. This is a new requirement not previously standard across committees.
Surveillance and Police Deployment
To bolster security, Kolkata Police will deploy plainclothes officers within pandal premises. Authorities will additionally monitor crowd situations through CCTV cameras and aerial drones, expanding the surveillance footprint compared to previous years.
An inter-agency coordination meeting between Kolkata Police and representatives of all puja committees has been scheduled to review implementation readiness and overall preparations before the festival begins.
Background: The Chorebagan Stampede
The new measures come directly in response to the tragedy at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, where 19 visitors lost their lives in a stampede. The incident exposed critical gaps in crowd management protocols at large public gatherings and drew sharp criticism over the absence of standardised safety procedures for pandal events. This is the first time a formal, jointly-issued SOP has been mandated across all puja committees in the city.
What Happens Next
With Kali Puja approaching, the pressure is now on individual puja committees and the police to enforce compliance swiftly. Authorities are expected to conduct pre-festival inspections to verify adherence to the new safety framework before crowds gather at pandals across Kolkata.
Point of View
Not a proactive safety culture — and that distinction matters. West Bengal has hosted massive puja gatherings for decades, yet it took 19 deaths at a single pandal to produce a formalised, city-wide crowd-safety framework. The real test is enforcement: guidelines without pre-festival inspections and real penalties for non-compliance are largely symbolic. The deployment of drones and plainclothes officers signals intent, but incident coordinators appointed at the last minute, without training or authority, risk becoming a compliance checkbox rather than a genuine safeguard. The broader question — why no such SOP existed before — deserves a direct answer from the state government.
NationPress
2 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the West Bengal Kali Puja SOP issued after the Durga Puja stampede?
It is a mandatory set of crowd and safety rules jointly issued by the West Bengal State Home Department and Kolkata Police for all puja committees ahead of Kali Puja. The SOP was released in response to the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja stampede that killed 19 visitors, and covers crowd entry control, emergency evacuation, lighting, surveillance, and incident coordination.
How many people died in the Chorebagan Durga Puja stampede?
19 visitors lost their lives in the stampede at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata. The tragedy prompted the West Bengal government and Kolkata Police to jointly issue the new safety SOP ahead of Kali Puja.
What are the key safety rules under the new Kali Puja SOP?
Key rules include separate entry and exit routes with visible signboards, an immediate halt on visitor entry if dangerous crowd pressure builds, obstacle-free emergency exits at all times, backup lighting for power outages, loudspeaker announcements in calm and clear language, and the appointment of an 'incident coordinator' by each puja committee.
How will Kolkata Police enforce the new Kali Puja safety guidelines?
Kolkata Police will deploy plainclothes officers within pandal premises and monitor crowd situations via CCTV cameras and aerial drones. A coordination meeting with representatives of all puja committees has also been scheduled to review implementation before the festival.
Is this the first time such a safety SOP has been issued for Kolkata puja events?
Based on the information available, this appears to be the first time a formal, jointly-issued mandatory SOP has been prescribed for all puja committees in Kolkata. Previous events did not have a standardised city-wide crowd-safety framework of this kind.
