As the immersion of Durga idols began on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said only Sanatanis will be allowed to participate in the process.

“Only people who follow Sanatana Dharma will participate. I have told the Commissioner of Police to note down the names and identity details of the people who will carry the idols. There is nothing communal in this,” Mr. Adhikari said while overseeing preparations for the immersion process in Kolkata’s Babu Ghat on the banks of the Ganga. 

The CM added that all necessary steps will be taken to maintain the “purity and traditions” of the religious event. “The festival is secondary; the religious event is more important. That is why it is crucial to keep the religious aspects as per thousands of years of tradition,” he said.

Safety measures

There are over 3,319 community Durga Pujas in Kolkata and several family pujas that will carry out bisharjan (immersion) over the next few days at various banks of the Ganga, ponds, and designated water bodies across the city. The process began on Wednesday (October 21) afternoon itself, with hundreds flocking to the ghats to immerse their Durga idols and bid farewell to the Goddess.

Top officials of Kolkata Police, Kolkata Port, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation were also present at the ghats to oversee the preparations. They will be coordinating to ensure that no accidents occur during the process.

Labourers from across West Bengal and outside States take part in the immersion process as the heavy structures require massive physical labour. As many as 300 labourers were part of the immersion process. Top officials of Kolkata Police, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Port authorities were also present at the ghats.

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Over 600 KMC officials, 43 medical teams, seven ambulances, eight National Disaster Relief Force teams, six civil defence teams, several bio toilets, water tankers and adequate lights were set in place for a smooth immersion process. At least 27 ghats on the bank of Ganga were identified for the process. Floating cranes were also deployed to ensure the Durga structure is lifted off the water after immersion to reduce water pollution.

Women across the State also indulged in Sindur Khela (playing with vermillion) to mark the end of the festivities and bid farewell to the Goddess for this year. 

Mr. Adhikari also met with several of the Chorbagan Sarbajanin Durga Puja stampede victim’s families on Wednesday to offer his condolences. He also met a few of them on Tuesday (October 20). 

Maa Durga’s thick black, wavy hair always catches the eyes of spectators across pandals in West Bengal during the puja festival every year. However, not many are aware that these tresses are woven by Muslim artisans from Howrah’s Parbatipur village in the district’s Amta locality.

Pabataipur is 50 kilometres from Kolkata and is connected by the Baragachhia railway station. Sheikh Nawab (37) runs the largest wig business for the deity’s idols in the village. While he doesn’t remember which of his ancestors started this craft, he recalls learning it from his grandfather. “The crafting of wigs are done in two phases. We source the jute and dye it and then we hire several artisans to stitch them. Stitching takes the longest. We train the workers ourselves,” Mr. Nawab said.

Inside a small yard inside his house, the artisan has set up two thatched huts where the entire work is done. Two of his brothers boil black dye in a large charcoal pot to colour the white jute, which will be left to dry on a clothesline for the next few days. In another house on the same lane, five women stitch the freshly dyed jute on sewing machines. 

Mr. Nawab displayed hundreds of packets of wigs he has stored in sacks. Each sack sells for around ₹9,000 to 10,000, mostly in Kumartuli, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, and Bangladesh. 

Falling income

However, Prabatipur’s veteran artisans face many challenges, and all their efforts do not yield enough income.

“Adverse monsoons and rising jute prices have hampered production over the last two to three years,” said Sheikh Injaman, another family member.

Mr. Injaman said the strain in relations between Bangladesh and India had also impacted trade. “We had great business relations with Hindu communities in Bangladesh. But that route is proving difficult due to the deteriorating political situation. We can barely pay the hundreds of labourers from nearby villages who work for us,” he said. A unit of jute now costs about ₹140 to 150, up from ₹90 two to three years ago.

Artisans say machine-based wig-making factories in Kolkata are tough competition for traditional handmade wigs. According to these craftsmen, artists from Kumartuli, Kolkata’s largest idol-making locality, source a good chunk of their wigs from three to five major factories instead of Parbatipur.

The changing socio-political landscape is another concern. “Earlier, we did not hesitate to approach idol makers, particularly those from the Hindu community. But now many of them hesitate to source wigs from us,” said Shona Bibi, a labourer who works for Mr. Injaman.

Kolkata 

India’s largest red light area in Kolkata’s Sonagachi inaugurated their 14^th Durga Puja on Wednesday (October 14) amid continued resistance and backlash from locals. The sex workers group Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) continue to fight for their rights in the face of persistent social stigma. 

“People always thought sex workers are sub-humans, why do they need to celebrate Durga Puja? Even to get this much space we had to go to the High Court. But problems are far from over, even now locals find new problems with our puja every year,” Bishakha Laskar, secretary of DMSC, told The Hindu during the inauguration ceremony. She said that on the day of the inauguration some locals alleged that their stage was bigger than permitted and tried to create a scuffle. 

Ms. Laskar added that neither locals nor neighbourhood clubs were willing to cooperate with them to organise their own Durga Puja. She said that the sex workers were often judged and looked down upon when they visited other pujas, so they wanted to start their own, despite facing considerable resistance.  

“We organise these events because it is also our safe space. But, one day we hope to become part of the mainstream so that we do not need separate pujas for marginalised people like us. We want to be able to participate in every puja like the rest of the society,” Ismail, the son of a sex worker, said during the ceremony.  

A guest at the event highlighted that a society cannot progress if they do not offer rights to sex workers and treat them as equal citizens. 

The organisers said the number of participants and guests had increased in recent years. Local MLAs, Ministers, social activists, college students, and residents now visit the puja to pay their respects, indicating a wind of change. 

Interestingly, the Durga idol remains incomplete without using a little clay from the courtyard of sex workers. Kumartuli, the city’s prominent potters’ colony, is a stone’s throw away from Sonagachi, and every year artisans traditionally collect clay from the courtyard of sex workers to make Durga idols. Yet, the women whose courtyards contribute to the making of the idols have often felt unwelcome at the pujas where they are worshipped. So, they started their own, and reclaimed their space and agency. 

Mamata-Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh, who was also present at the inauguration, said he will always stand in support of the sex workers and do what he can to make things better for them.

The men who come here to pay for sex and those who traffic women into the sex trade are not questioned, but women who enter sex work have to bear the burden of society’s judgement. How is that okay? A civilised society should not accept this,” Mr Ghosh said. 

BJP government’s beautification drive aims to give Kolkata a makeover ahead of Durga Puja; Minister Agnimitra Paul says designs symbolise brotherhood, love and public trust

Monotonous asphalt roads and busy flyovers in Kolkata are getting a colourful makeover with traditional ‘alpona’ motifs as part of a beautification drive ahead of Durga Puja. 

The Gariahat Bridge has turned into a rainbow of pink, orange, green, and yellow, while a large alpona design in contrasting red and white has appeared at the Park Circus seven-point crossing. 

The initiative is part of a beautification drive by the new Bharatiya Janata Party government to give the city a makeover ahead of the festival.

Inspecting the work at Gariahat Bridge, West Bengal Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul described the initiative as a symbol of brotherhood, love and public trust.

While making an alpona—the traditional art of drawing designs on floors and other surfaces using liquid rice flour—at the busy Park Circus crossing, Ms. Paul said, “At Park Circus, where anti-India slogans were raised, fires were set, and police personnel and vehicles were attacked, large alpona designs are now being drawn. My brothers from minority communities have joined Hindu artists in creating these motifs.”

She highlighted the participation of artists from minority communities alongside Hindu artists in creating the designs, particularly at Park Circus—a collaboration she described as a demonstration of communal harmony.

Ms. Paul said similar beautification work would also be done on Red Road, while the ghats along the Hooghly were being decorated ahead of the festival. She presented the collaboration as a gesture of inter-community trust and invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas”.

The BJP government is making an all-out effort to make its first Durga Puja in office a grand celebration. On October 10, during Mahalaya (the end of Pitru Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha), it also organised a mega event at the iconic Eden Gardens, featuring fireworks and drone shows. 

The West Bengal government organised a massive Durga Puja event at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Saturday (October 10, 2026), with about 40,000 people in attendance. The much-awaited event on the occasion of Mahalaya marked the beginning of the first Durga Puja celebration of the Bharatiya Janata Party after taking power in the State.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who was present at the event along with his Council of Ministers, said, “All Durga Pujas will follow the proper religious traditions this year,” taking a swipe at his predecessor Mamata Banerjee.

“This is the first time pujas have not been inaugurated before time. This is our tradition; everybody has to follow the religious scripture and traditions. Every religion has its own rules and regulations. No Chief Minister has enough power to change the dates of religious events on their own will,” Mr. Adhikari said.

Mr. Adhikari had said that his government would not allow a single Durga Puja in the State to inaugurate their festivities before Mahalaya. 

28% rise in community Pujas

The Chief Minister added that 12,400 more community Durga Pujas are being organised in the State this year, after the new government came into power. In 2025, there were 45,000 Durga Pujas under the last government. 

This time, Mr. Adhikari had also appealed to big Durga Pujas not to seek assistance from the State government. During the Trinamool regime, Ms. Banerjee had started the practice of giving cash incentives to community Durga Pujas since 2018, a practice that the BJP government has not discontinued.

“Over 200 Puja committees in Kolkata did not take the financial help, responding to my appeal to them to let go of this financial assistance,” Mr. Adhikari said.

PM, HM absent

When the grand inaugural event was initially conceived, the Chief Minister had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be present. However, the protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday meant that neither Mr. Modi nor Union Home Minister Amit Shah were present at the event.

West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi, along with several State Ministers were in attendance, along with several well known actors, religious leaders, and artists, including exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin.

‘New sunrise for West Bengal’

The cultural event at Eden Gardens, which included drone shows and performances by artists such as Shantanu Moitra and Kaushiki Chakraborty, went on for several hours. Governor Ravi said that the arrangements were a testament to the fact that the current government is dedicated to Maa Durga.

“Because of Maa Durga’s blessings, West Bengal now has a new sunrise and has a government which believes and prays to Maa Durga. Just a few months back, there was hopelessness here, but today that has changed, and there is hope in West Bengal now… Even people who come from outside, delegations who meet me say that this is a great time to invest in Bengal, this is Maa Durga’s blessing,” the Governor said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said people have the constitutional freedom to choose their food habits and religious practices, in an apparent response to godman Dhirendra Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba, over his purported remarks on Bengalis eating non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja.

Also Read: Congress leader summoned by police for ‘burning’ Bageshwar Baba’s photo over Durga Puja remark

Speaking at a summit organised by a private news channel on Saturday (September 12, 2026), Mr. Adhikari said people were free to follow the religious practices of their choice, and that nobody should be subjected to abuse for such personal decisions.

“Dharma gurus (Religious leaders) of different faiths express their views. It’s for people to decide whether they want to accept them or not. Our great Constitution, written by Babasaheb Ambedkar, has given you the freedom,” he said.

Referring to his own food habits, Mr. Adhikari said he had offered prayers at the Kalighat temple here on the occasion of Kaushiki Amavasya on Thursday (September 10) and subsequently had ‘prasad’ comprising fish head and Basanti pulao.

“On the day of Kaushiki Amavasya, I offered prayers to Maa Kali at Kalighat. After that, I had Basanti pulao with fish, including its head, which had been offered to the goddess,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said he would visit the Baghbazar Gaudiya Math on September 19 on the occasion of Radha Ashtami, where he would have ‘satvik’ (pure vegetarian) food.

“On Radh Ashtami, I have been invited to Baghbazar Gaudiya Math, where I will go and accept ‘satvik’ food,” he said.

Mr. Adhikari said people had the right to follow different religious traditions and questioned the practice of targeting or abusing individuals over their food choices.

“We have the right to follow Vaishnav traditions or other traditions. This right has been given to us by our religion and also by the Constitution. But what kind of right or freedom of speech is it to target someone, make videos around them and hurl obscene abuses at them?” he asked.

The Chief Minister’s remarks came amid a controversy over comments by Bageshwar Baba, who had described non-vegetarian food as “dirty” and called for restrictions on its consumption during Durga Puja.