Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday met the relatives of three of the 19 deceased in the Kolkata Durga Puja stampede a few days ago and handed over ₹ 25 lakh ex gratia to each of the grieving families.
Besides handing over the compensation cheque, the chief minister paid tribute to the deceased woman.
“I am with you all. Do not worry. Speaking to the media, Adhikari criticised the TMC government for the manner it had dealt with such incidents during its tenure. “Unlike my predecessor, I consider this one of my responsibilities.
Have you ever heard of a government paying compensation of ₹ 25 lakh?” he said.
Unlike the previous government, we believe not in words but in action,” he told the Pramanik family. He also said that since the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, no representative from the two organisations had been included in the team constituted to probe the mishap.
In earlier instances, aggrieved families had to approach the Calcutta High Court or the Supreme Court to get an inquiry ordered. Adhikari said the chief secretary had written to the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court on Monday, requesting the nomination of a sitting judge to probe the Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede incident.
