With Mahalaya being observed across West Bengal on Saturday, the Durga Puja festival in the State has begun and the next few days will not only mark the onset of festivities but also subtle politics centred around the cultural extravaganza.
From honorarium to community Durga Puja pandals, to the themes around the Puja, bonus to contractual employees, the literature sold at the puja pandals and a Puja carnival to mark the conclusion, the grand spectacle in West Bengal has over the past several years ceased to be only a religious and cultural phenomenon.
It is not only the Durga Puja organisers who make preparations months before the festival but also the government and ruling establishment. On August 22, when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a hike in the cash incentive to community Durga Puja Pandals in the State, she had expressed apprehension that some might challenge the government decision before the Calcutta High Court. Though the issue was not challenged before the High Court, the State government increase of cash incentive to ₹70,000 had raised many eyebrows particularly when cash crunch is affecting lot of welfare schemes in the State.
