West Bengal BJP Govt Scraps Durga Puja Carnival, Plans Drone-Fireworks Show

The first Durga Puja in West Bengal under the BJP government will be marked by a series of large-scale cultural programmes, drone and fireworks shows, while the annual carnival, introduced during the TMC era, will not be held this year, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Monday.

Making it clear that organisers should not have to approach the courts for permission to conduct Durga Puja unlike the previous Trinamool Congress regime, Adhikari said his government would ensure that the festival could be celebrated in accordance with Bengali traditions and culture without unnecessary hurdles.

"The carnival that was being imposed in the name of Durga Puja for the last few years will not be held this year," Adhikari said after a preparatory and coordination meeting on the festival.

Instead, the state Tourism and Information and Cultural Affairs departments will jointly organise a major programme at Eden Gardens to mark the beginning of the festive season.

The programme will feature a four-hour drone and fireworks show, he said, adding that an elaborate series of events would be organised across the state during the run-up to Durga Puja.

A special programme will also be held at Digha after Mahalaya, while cultural programmes will be organised for two days in six cities across the state, Adhikari said.

The carnival was introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2017, months after the administration faced criticism and allegations of minority appeasement over its decision to restrict idol immersions around Muharram. In that year, Vijaya Dashami, when Durga idols are traditionally immersed, fell on September 30, while Muharram was observed on October 1.

The then TMC-led state government had directed that idol immersions on Dashami be stopped by 6 pm and suspended completely on October 1, citing the need to avoid clashes between immersion processions and Muharram observances and to maintain law and order. Immersions resumed from October 2.

The restrictions triggered a political controversy, with the BJP accusing the TMC government of minority appeasement. The matter also reached the Calcutta High Court, which questioned the blanket restrictions on immersion.

Against this backdrop, the TMC government subsequently introduced the Durga Puja carnival, an annual spectacle showcasing selected pujas and their idols in a grand procession and cultural event in Kolkata.

The event subsequently became an annual feature of the city's festive calendar.

The chief minister announced that the government will also decorate four ghats and organise cultural programmes there as part of the festivities.

The BJP government, which came to power in West Bengal this year after ending the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress, is keen to project the state's biggest festival as a celebration rooted in Bengali culture and tradition.

The chief minister also said the government would not allow roads and national highways to be unnecessarily blocked in the name of organising pujas.

"National highways cannot be blocked. Puja cannot be organised by blocking roads," he said, indicating that organisers would have to ensure that public movement was not disrupted.

The government's approach is expected to set the tone for the first Durga Puja season under the BJP administration, with the emphasis on large-scale public celebrations while ensuring that traditional puja rituals and public convenience are not compromised.

Durga Puja, West Bengal's biggest annual festival, attracts millions of visitors to Kolkata and other parts of the state and has emerged as a major cultural and tourism event over the years.

In 2021, UNESCO accorded the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) tag to Durga Puja in Kolkata.