Bengal's Durga Puja economy shows stark divide between large and small organisers

Large-scale Durga Puja committees across West Bengal reported brisk commercial activity in the run-up to this year's festivities, with premium advertising slots commanding prices 20 per cent higher than the previous year. Prominent puja organisers, shopping malls, and e-commerce platforms all registered strong business growth, bolstered by increased deployment of high-visibility LED displays and digital marketing initiatives.

The commercial surge, however, has not been evenly distributed across Bengal's puja landscape. While government figures indicated nearly 13,000 additional pujas were organised compared to last year, smaller community committees and traditional market vendors reported significantly weaker performance. Many neighbourhood-level puja committees found themselves unable to secure adequate advertising sponsorships, with outdoor advertising slots in secondary locations remaining unfilled.

According to Kajol Sarkar, an office-bearer of the Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella body representing over 550 community Durga Puja committees in Kolkata, Howrah and surrounding areas, advertisers have increasingly concentrated their spending on high-traffic routes and major venues. This strategic narrowing of advertising spend has left smaller committees facing reduced commercial opportunities compared to their larger counterparts.

The disparity highlights a growing trend in how Bengal's Durga Puja season is being commercialised, with resources increasingly flowing towards large-scale, corporate-backed celebrations while grassroots community pujas struggle to maintain their traditional sponsorship models.