Kolkata: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said “human error” was responsible for the Chorbagan stampede that killed 19, while speaking at the Sangh’s Vijaya Dashami celebrations in Nagpur on Tuesday. “A tragic incident has occurred in Kolkata. Nature cannot be held responsible for it. Human error is responsible,” he said.CM Suvendu Adhikari, who had earlier called the incident “unforgivable”, on Thursday concurred with the Sangh chief. “What Mohan Bhagwatji said is correct. It was human error. We don’t want to get into who was responsible. Investigators will look into that,” he said.“There were two primary reasons: the announcement and removal of the rope guard. There was no need to announce that the pandal would collapse. It (the stampede) did not happen inside the pandal. It happened near the exit point,” the CM added.“Nearly 10 crore people take part in Durga Puja celebrations. There are at least 58,000 puja pandals. No police force can control such a crowd. People have to be aware and careful,” Adhikari said.The CM added that an independent probe will help fix responsibility. “We have formed an independent team to investigate what caused the accident. Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials are not part of the team in order to maintain impartiality of the probe,” he said.During his speech in Nagpur, Bhagwat further said, “We have seen the tragedy in Nepal. And the incident in Kolkata. We are saddened by the loss of lives. Efforts are on to provide relief.”The RSS chief also raised concerns about the environmental consequences of human actions. “The Himalayas span several countries. The use of monopolistic power by some countries to exploit and damage the natural environment does not constitute sustainable development,” he said.
