Durga Angan, Puja Grants: All Eyes On Mamata Banerjee’s Announcements Ahead of Festive Season
A key meeting between the Chief Minister and festival organisers is set to take place on July 31 at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium, where important plans for this year’s Durga Puja may be finalised.
With Durga Puja around the corner, puja committees across West Bengal are keenly waiting to see whether Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will announce a hike in the financial assistance given to them. A major coordination meeting between the CM and puja organisers is scheduled for July 31 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, where crucial arrangements for this year’s celebrations are likely to be discussed and decided.
Last year, Mamata Banerjee made a major declaration, stating that the honorarium for each Durga Puja committee would be raised to ₹1 lakh in 2025. “If we could increase the grant by ₹15,000 this year, we will raise it to ₹1 lakh next year. I’m announcing this beforehand,” she had said, drawing loud cheers from those present.
At present, around 40,000 puja committees across Bengal receive this yearly financial assistance from the state government. The Chief Minister announces this grant every year as part of her outreach to the festival committees.
With assembly polls due next year, Thursday’s meeting carries extra political weight. Analysts feel Mamata Banerjee might make fresh announcements related to “Durga Angan,” a cultural and infrastructure-based initiative she had spoken about during her address at the July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally.
This development came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Asansol, began his speech with chants of “Jai Ma Kali” and “Jai Ma Durga.” The BJP, however, has continuously criticised the state’s financial aid to puja committees, terming it a strategy to influence Hindu voters before elections.
Speaking to News18, Sajal Ghosh, BJP councillor and organiser of a puja in North Kolkata, said, “This time, she will raise it and make it ₹1 lakh because she wants to buy votes. Around ₹400 crore will be spent at a time when people don’t have employment.”
Now, all attention is on what Mamata Banerjee will declare on Thursday, as both political and cultural anticipation builds ahead of Bengal’s biggest festival.
