Durga Puja In Bengal

The treasurer of the Chorbagan Durga Puja was arrested for allegedly misleading revellers by announcing that a section of the pandal was collapsing, which appeared to have triggered panic among them and led to the stampede that claimed the lives of 19 people last week, police said on Friday. Sanjib Raha, alias Sentu, was initially detained from a hideout in Nadia district on Thursday and later arrested, a senior officer said. "There were two persons who were making announcements at the Chorbagan Durga Puja. He was one of them. He had been absconding since the incident occurred in the evening of October 17. We initially detained him in Nadia and then arrested him after hours of questioning," he said. At least 19 people died, and 25 others were injured in the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata following a crowd surge amid rain. The two persons, who had been making announcements at the puja pandal on the Maha Saptami day, were identified via CCTV footage, the

The elderly accounted for 28% of stampede deaths in India over the past decade, making them the most vulnerable, while religious gatherings remained a major cause of such incidents.

West Bengal's Durga Puja commercial landscape was marked by uneven gains this year, with large puja organisers, malls, organised retailers and e-commerce platforms reporting brisk business, while smaller puja committees, traditional markets and hawkers struggled to keep pace. While government data showed 13,000 more pujas being organised this year than last, the divide between big-budget celebrations and smaller community pujas remained stark. Large and traditionally popular puja organisers reported fully booked outdoor advertising slots, with rates rising by at least 20 per cent amid the growing use of LED displays. Smaller committees, however, faced weaker advertising demand, with some outdoor advertising slots remaining vacant. Kajol Sarkar, an office-bearer of the Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella body representing over 550 community Durga Puja committees in Kolkata, Howrah and their suburbs, said advertisers were concentrating on specific routes rather than spreading their ...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take part in Durga Puja festivities in Kolkata on Friday. He arrived in the metropolis on Thursday night and was received at the airport by senior state BJP leader Rahul Sinha. Shah will inaugurate the pandal of the Santosh Mitra Square Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity in north Kolkata on Friday. Organised by BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh, the Durga Puja pandal has showcased 'Operation Sindoor'. Shah will then visit the Kalighat temple in south Kolkata and offer puja. Later, he will inaugurate the Durga Puja pandal of the BJP-backed Paschim Banga Sanskriti Mancha at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake. He will leave the city in the evening.

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On the day 4 of Navratri on October 18, Maa Kushmanda is worshipped. Hindus worships Maa Durga and her nine forms during the celebration, mark fasts, eat satvik food, and seek blessings of the goddess

The five-day-long Durga Puja festival in West Bengal came to a close on Wednesday with the immersion of idols on 'Vijayadashami' at various river ghats across the state. Women participated in the traditional 'Sindur Khela' (smearing vermilion on each other's faces) and offered sweets and prayers to the goddess before bidding her farewell for the year. Organisers of most household and community pujas were seen leading colourful processions to the ghats amid the beating of drums and chanting of mantras. Shortly after the immersion, people exchanged sweets and greetings. At Babughat, which witnesses the highest number of idol immersions in the state, devotees were seen queuing up since 11 am, with chants of Asche bochor abar hobe' (till next year) adding to the fervour. According to sources in Kolkata Police, adequate security arrangements have been made on the thoroughfares and at the river ghats for peaceful observance of the idol-immersion ceremony. The immersion of big-ticket Du

The usual fun, frolic and religious fervour associated with Maha Ashtami was barely visible on Saturday, with people across West Bengal worshipping the goddess virtually

The court has allowed entry of up to 45 people at a time in big pandals

As I was thinking about how interesting it was that Muslim families were also participating and making the most of the Durga pujo festivities, I realised it was not just restricted to pandal hopping

The South Kolkata Chetla Agrani Club's had made the pandal with a theme of "Kolkata choliyechey Naritey Noritey" which means Kolkata on the go

The top court was hearing a petition filed by advocate Sourav Dutta challenging the Mamata Banerjee govt's decision to dole out Rs 280 mn to 28,000 puja committees in the state for durga puja

The West Bengal CM cautioned people not to get 'misled' by conspiracies hatched by troublemakers

Has communal hatred seeped into the Bengali-speaking middle-class psyche?