Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], October 18 : Odisha Police have beefed up security and crowd management measures at Durga Puja pandals across the state to prevent overcrowding and stampede-like situations, Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Vinaytosh Mishra said on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, Mishra stated that mandatory police personnel will be deployed at every major pandal alongside committee volunteers. Special emphasis is being placed on regulating entry and exit points to control footfall inside the venues.
"Large pandals have been set up in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore and other places, and a large number of people visit them for darshan... We have issued strict instructions that every pandal must have police deployment, along with volunteers provided by the respective puja committees. The entry and exit gates will be regulated to ensure that a very large number of people do not gather inside the pandals at any point," he said. 
"What happens is that if a large number of people gather and even a small incident occurs at that moment, it can cause panic and create a risk of a stampede," he added. 
This comes after the Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede tragedy in West Bengal's Kolkata, in which 19 lives were lost, including those of young children. Seven people arrested in connection with the case were remanded to 10 days of police custody by the Bankshal Court. Police had sought 14 days. 
The defence lawyer, MD Yashim Raheman, claimed the accused were outsiders who had come to witness the Puja celebrations. He added that custody had been granted until the 28th, while police had asked for custody until November 1.
"We informed the court that these individuals were outsiders; they had come to witness the Durga Puja celebrations. Upon observing the heavy crowding--where many people were in distress--they stepped in to assist with rescue efforts...Regarding the police custody (PC), the court has granted it until the 28th. Everyone has been remanded to police custody until the 28th. The police had requested custody until the 1st, but the judge granted it until the 28th," he told ANI.