States » EastPosted at: Sep 20 2026 9:34PM


Bengal: 64-year-old Durga Puja to shine in 100 kg of gold

By Manas Banerjee
Siliguri, Sep 20 (UNI) In October 1962, when war clouds were gathering between India and China, railway employees living in the Central Colony close to the New Jalpaiguri railway station decided to organise a community Durga Puja.
The Puja concluded on October 9. Eleven days later, on October 20, China attacked India.
More than six decades later, the memory of that Puja continues to live on. The Central Colony Durga Puja Committee has this time made things more pompous and glitzy by deciding to adorn the idols of Goddess Durga and the other deities with 100 kg of original gold ornaments.
However, the Puja itself faced a major challenge this year. For decades, the celebration was held on a large railway ground where thousands of visitors gathered. Railway authorities had been asking the organisers to shift the Puja as a cricket stadium is being constructed on the site.
After several meetings, an alternative location was offered. Initially, however, the new site was almost entirely wetland. The committee filled and prepared the land before deciding to hold the Puja there, committee president Kanchan Ray told The Statesman.
Members said they had not imagined that the Puja at the new location would eventually become such a major attraction.
The gold ornaments have also brought a major responsibility in terms of security. Joint secretary Partha De told The Statesman: "Several meetings have already been held with the police. CCTV cameras will be installed across the Puja premises, while a large number of private security guards will be deployed. All arrangements will follow the security guidelines issued by the authorities."
Crowd and traffic management will also be important as the new venue is close to major roads connecting New Jalpaiguri railway station. Apart from committee members, professional volunteers will be engaged to manage visitors and assist with crowd and traffic control.
The organisers have decided not to seek financial assistance from the state government for the Puja. They also plan to inform West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the celebration and invite them to the inauguration.
For committee member Angshuman Chakraborty, however, the real story is not the gold but the memory attached to the Puja.
"When the Puja completed 50 years, a private television channel honoured it with the Viswa Bangla Sarad Samman and declared it the best Puja in West Bengal. Its theme then was 'Jibon Tori'," he told this correspondent.
This year, the theme is "Bhaskaryer Rupkatha."
Chakraborty, who has watched the Puja since childhood and has been associated with it for nearly five decades, sees the 64th year as another chapter in a journey that began among railway families during a tense period in Indian history.
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