India, Oct. 19 -- An umbrella organisation of around 400 organising committees and the police have issued fresh guidelines on crowd management in Durga Puja pandals after 19 people were killed and 25 injured in a stampede at a pandal in Kolkata on Saturday.

A surge in crowds and heavy rain triggered the stampede at Chor Bagan, one of the most popular Durga Puja venues, in cramped north Kolkata, as crowds jostled through a narrow bylane on Saptami, the seventh day of the festival. Rain had left the streets slippery.

The Forum for Durgotsab, the umbrella organisation, has asked puja organisers to keep at least 10 raincoats in each pandal and walkie-talkies. It added that regular announcements should be made inside the pandals, warning hop...