No early inauguration, no extended roadblocks, Sreebhumi launches Durga Puja under new panel, promises end to political control
Times of India | 17 July 2026
Kolkata: In a symbolic departure from earlier years, Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town on Thursday held a low-key Khuti Puja under a new organising committee, marking the end of the Sujit Bose era sans his faithful committee members and signalling a return to a resident-driven community puja.
While unveiling Hawa Mahal as this year’s theme, the organisers said the festival would retain its trademark grandeur but without political interference, abandon the practice of inaugurating the pandal on Mahalaya, and instead open it only on Chaturthi or Panchami to restore traditional norms and minimise disruption for locals.
The new committee performed the customary Khuti Puja on Rathayatra after offering prayers to Lord Jagannath, formally kicking off preparations for this year’s puja.
“The worship of the Goddess cannot begin during Pitri Paksha. It will begin only during Matri Paksha. Our committee has unanimously decided that the inauguration of the Goddess will take place either on Chaturthi or Panchami”, said Debajit Chatterjee, one of the organising committee members. “The dark era has come to an end. Until now, this was the puja of one individual. This year, it will be the puja of the local residents.”
In a bid to underline the community character of the festival, the organisers announced that breakfast, lunch and dinner would be arranged for residents on all four main days of the puja. “We may have fewer resources, but we will express far greater sincerity. Every household in the neighbourhood will be part of the celebrations,” the organiser said.
The committee also said this year’s sankalp, or ritual invocation, was performed collectively in the name of all residents instead of any individual. “Our only identity is that we are the people of Sreebhumi. This is a true ‘barowari’ puja,” an organiser said.
The Durga Puja at Sreebhumi was known for its two-week long celebration which used to cause traffic chaos as well as trouble for residents living in the locality who had trouble taking out their cars and had to take a detour even to enter or leave their homes. The new committee members said that practise wil go away now.
“Our puja will follow the traditional lunar calendar. The immersion will take place on Dashami. If there is any difficulty because of the tithi, it may be held on Ekadashi or Dwadashi. But this month-long celebration will not continue this year.”
The organisers have also done away with the previous decorators who were behind Sreebhumi’s some iconic pandals like Burj Khalifa, St Peters Basilica and Disneyland and have deputed a new decorator from Minakha. “The puja will be devoid of any political interference. We have invited the local MLA and will even invite CM Suvendu Adhikari for inaugurating our puja but this puja will no longer have any political control,” said Prabir Dhar, another committee member.