West Bengal Hikes Assistance For Durga Puja Organisers, Will Now Give Rs 85,000

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced government assistance of Rs 85,000 for each community Durga Puja organiser in the state. 

Last year, the state government gave Rs 70,000 to each community Durga Puja organiser in West Bengal. The Chief Minister also said that next year the amount will be hiked by another Rs 15,000, which will take it to Rs 1 lakh. 

All licences given to puja organisers will be free of cost and this year there will be a 75% discount on electricity fees for the organisers. It is estimated that the government will be spending at least Rs 340 crore this year on financial assistance to puja organisers. 

The West Bengal Chief Minister announced during an administrative and coordination meeting with Durga Puja organisers. Around 43,000 registered community Durga Pujas are held across the state with around 15,000 of them believed to be in Kolkata and surrounding areas alone. 

Explaining why she cannot hike the amount in one go, Ms Banerjee said, "The Budget was announced today and Bengal was given nothing. No matter how sad we are, we will never say no to times of celebration."

The Chief Minister has also cautioned puja organisers on safety measures as the festival which has earned the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity tag draws huge crowds. The Chief Minister also asked them to share their plans with the administration for proper planning and crowd management.  "I saw an ad which states that a 112-foot-tall Durga idol will be set up. Can you imagine? Don't you think that this can create a stampede-like situation? The clubs need to be careful so that no such situation happens," the Chief Minister said. 

"There should be no issue regarding the security of women. The specially-abled people should be taken care of. Multiple entry and exit points should be made available in the pandals to avoid accidents in case of emergencies. Police, district, state and puja committee control rooms should be present so in case there are some issues, coordination is easier," the Chief Minister added.

The BJP, on earlier occasions, has been critical of the move to give money to Durga Puja organisers and had hit out at Ms Banerjee's decision last year to hike the state's financial assistance to the clubs last year, to Rs 70,000. 

It led to a showdown, with the BJP alleging that she was misusing public funds to secure votes. In 2018, when Ms Banerjee started the assistance scheme, the amount was Rs 10,000 and has been gradually increased over the years.