West Bengal Tightens Durga Puja Rules; Scraps Post-Immersion Carnival

West Bengal authorities have introduced fresh guidelines aimed at regulating Durga Puja festivities across the state, signaling a shift from practices established in recent years. Among the new measures, liquor sales will be prohibited on Ashtami, a key festival day, while amplified music from DJs will be restricted during the immersion processions when idols are carried to water bodies for submersion.

The government has also scrapped the Puja Carnival, a spectacle that had become a fixture on Kolkata's Red Road in the post-Puja period. The carnival had evolved into a major attraction, showcasing elaborately crafted idols from prominent puja committees before they were immersed in the Hooghly River, drawing significant crowds and media attention.

These regulatory changes reflect the government's stated intention to streamline Puja observances while managing public gatherings and associated activities. Officials have framed the restrictions as measures to ensure orderly celebrations and maintain the traditional spiritual character of the festival.

The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja season and is likely to reshape how committees and organizers plan their festivities, particularly regarding post-worship festivities and immersion ceremonies that traditionally attract large numbers of devotees and tourists to Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal.