India

Adhikari Opens Durga Puja Celebrations, Emphasizing Religious Timing

By HT Correspondent

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched the state’s Durga Puja festivities on Saturday at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. He explained that the celebrations were delayed until the start of Devi Paksha, as the government had decided that the festival could not begin during Pitru Paksha. "We decided to maintain the cultural tradition of Durga Puja while also adhering to religious norms and our scriptures," Adhikari said.

This is the first Durga Puja under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which took office in May after ousting the Trinamool Congress. The event drew an audience of about 40,000, including the state governor RN Ravi, ministers, senior bureaucrats and leaders from various spiritual organisations. Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen also attended.

Adhikari noted that the number of community pujas rose from around 45,000 last year to roughly 57,400 this year, and that no community had sought permission from the Calcutta High Court to organise a puja. He also highlighted that the new government has reduced the grant to Durga Puja committees from ₹110,000 to ₹100,000, banned DJs during the festivities, and closed liquor outlets and bars on Maha Ashtami. The Durga Puja carnival, a project of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been cancelled.

During the ceremony, at least 3,000 drones illuminated the sky over the stadium, depicting Goddess Durga and traditional scenes such as Dhunuchi Naach. The state tourism and information and cultural affairs departments will host special cultural programmes in various cities and tourist destinations, including an event on Digha beach, over the next four days before the main Puja celebrations begin.