Durga Puja preparations across Bengal’s urban local bodies have entered a final execution phase, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directing civic authorities to complete road repairs within three days, replace faulty street lights urgently and clear pending employee salaries before the Puja vacation.
Adhikari issued the directions during a review meeting at Nagarayan in Salt Lake on Friday, attended by representatives of urban local bodies and development authorities. The meeting examined preparedness for Durga Puja across the state, including public lighting, road conditions, civic staffing and immersion arrangements.
The chief minister said around 1,200 additional pujas are being organised in the state this year. He described the increase as evidence of greater public involvement in the festival. The announcement places additional pressure on municipal agencies to maintain roads, lighting and other public infrastructure across neighbourhoods hosting pandals and large gatherings.
Street-light replacement was identified as an urgent task, with officials asked to complete it by Tuesday. Adhikari also directed urban local bodies to install lights in locations without pandals, extending the lighting plan beyond the immediate festival venues. The direction covers public areas that may still experience increased movement during the Puja period.
The civic review also addressed the Mahalaya programme scheduled at Eden Gardens on Saturday. The event is expected to draw 45,000 people, while giant screens will be installed at key locations in Kolkata so that residents can watch the programme live. Adhikari said the sound of dhaks and conch shells at the event would set a record, according to the report.
Municipal staffing and payments formed another part of the instructions. Civic bodies were asked to clear pending salaries of their employees before the Puja vacation and ensure that contractual workers have no outstanding dues. The direction links festival readiness not only to visible infrastructure such as roads and lights, but also to the availability and payment of the workers responsible for maintaining civic services.
Immersion arrangements were also discussed. Adhikari said civic bodies had been asked to ensure that immersion takes place with sanctity and devotion. He ruled out the use of cranes and said conveyor belts and other alternatives would be used instead. The review did not specify the locations, capacities or operating schedules for those alternatives.
The instructions leave urban local bodies with a compressed timetable before the festival period. Their immediate tasks include completing identified road repairs, replacing street lights, extending lighting to non-pandal areas, settling employee and contractual-worker dues, and preparing the arrangements for the Eden Gardens Mahalaya event and subsequent immersion activities.
