Kolkata: Compared with previous years, Durga Puja and immersions were more peaceful this time, save for the Chorbagan tragedy, said CM Suvendu Adhikari, adding that the govt will take a lesson from the incident to ensure safe celebrations in future, including the upcoming Kali Puja. Adhikari, on Saturday evening, met the kin of two stampede victims — Sneha Bhandari (20) at Bakrahat in South 24 Parganas and Bikash Bhattacharya (66) at Salkia in Howrah.“In the past, several incidents had taken place during puja. This time the puja and immersions were more or less peaceful, except for the Chorbagan incident. That means everyone (cops and administration) worked properly. Taking a lesson from this tragedy, we will strengthen safety measures in future,” Adhikari said.He garlanded the victims’ photographs and handed over financial help to their kin. At Bakrahat, the CM assured of a job for Bhandari’s mother, and of govt help for education of her sister, a class IX student. “The family is getting Annapurna Yojana benefits and they have Ayushman Bharat card,” he said.From Bakrahat, the CM travelled to another victim Bhattacharya’s home at Salkia, and assured of employment for his son. “This evening I have completed my visit to 16 victims’ houses. On Sunday, I will conclude by visiting the home of the 17th victim. Two other victims were from Bihar. I had made a commitment that I would visit and meet the families of all stampede victims, and stand beside them. During the election we had assured people of ‘Bhoy out, Bhorsha in’,” he said.As for the investigation, the CM said, “During the Left and TMC regimes, HC’s assistance had to be sought for getting agencies like CBI to probe into Tapasi Malik or Nitai murder cases. Now, the probe into the Chorbagan incident is being headed by a retired judge to make sure it is unbiased.”
