The Burj Khalifa replica at Sreebhumi Sporting Club enthralled visitors who managed to brave the crowds and reach the pandal. But it also witnessed a stampede-like situation that left three pandal-hoppers hospitalised and choked traffic as far-off as EM Bypass and Jessore Road. The police also feels that the exhausting queues here had a role to play in the modest footfall at Salt Lake pujas this year.
According to a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate, from Chaturthi itself lakhs of revellers had descended on the pandal to catch a glimpse of the 145-feet tall structure along with its laser light- and-sound show.
On Ashtami, at around 8pm at least 1.5 lakh revellers had queued up, choking not only VIP Road but also Jessore Road and EM Bypass. Cops were forced to issue a shutdown order to the puja organisers around 11pm on Ashtami after a stampede-like situation where at least three pandal-hoppers suffocated, fell and got trampled by others. These three persons, including a woman and a child, had to be hospitalised.
Earlier, on Saptami, the laser light and sound show had to be cancelled on grounds of aviation safety and also to reduce the unmanageable crowd. An officer of the commissionerate said pilots of at least three flights informed air traffic controllers at Dum Dum airport that they were having trouble landing their aircrafts because of the laser lights from the Burj Khalifa pandal.
The officer also felt that Sreebhumi had this year pulled away a large section of the crowd that heads to Salt Lake. “A major reason why Salt Lake and New Town had a marked drop in the number of revellers from outside was that most pandal-hoppers made a beeline for Sreebhumi,” said the officer.
“Since Chaturthi itself, we realised we had to tweak the deployment plan. While a sizeable contingent of cops had been stationed at the pandals that draw crowds in Salt Lake and New Town from Panchami, we diverted all available resources to the Sreebhumi puja for better crowd management,” the officer said.
He said the waiting time at the pandal also proved to be a hindrance for people who generally visit Salt Lake after pandal-hopping in adjoining areas like Dum Dum Park, Ultadanga and Telengabagan. “But this year people waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the Burj Khalifa and by the time they got out, many chose not to go ahead to the pujas of Salt Lake. A few that did, went to have food at restaurants in Salt Lake and went home without visiting pandals,” said the officer.