West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday visited the family of Shubham Sonkar, who died in the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede in Kolkata, and announced financial assistance of Rs 27 lakh.
The SIT has been tasked with examining the circumstances that led to the stampede and recommending measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Its members include the Principal Secretary of the West Bengal Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department and the Director General and Inspector General of Police for the state’s Special Task Force (STF). The panel will also include a representative of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, not below the rank of Additional Director General; a representative of the Home and Hill Affairs Department, not below the rank of Joint Secretary; and a representative of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) based in Kolkata.
The incident claimed 19 lives and left several people injured.
“Today, compensation was to be given; though no compensation can make up for a death, the government has responsibility. Accompanied by State Industries Minister Tapas Roy, Adhikari met Sonkar’s family at their residence. We have given Rs 25 lakh from the government and Rs 2 lakh from the PM’s relief fund,” Adhikari told the media.
He said the state government had a responsibility to support the family, even though financial compensation could not make up for the loss of life. He said the amount had been credited to the family’s account, adding that Sonkar had left behind two children, a son and a daughter.
The West Bengal government, in consultation with the Calcutta High Court, constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 21 to investigate the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal on October 17.
