📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / HridoyKundu
Religion
Bengal Records 12,000 Additional Durga Puja Pandals in 2026, Amit Shah Visits Kolkata
✍️ News18
🗓 18 Oct 2026, 05:17 AM
👁 19
West Bengal's 2026 Durga Puja season will host roughly 12,000 more pandals than the previous year, coinciding with Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Kolkata for the festivities.
The cultural calendar of West Bengal this year marks a significant expansion of Durga Puja, with authorities confirming the addition of about 12,000 new pandals across the state, a rise from the previous year's count.
Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata on the opening day of the celebrations, meeting local officials and cultural organizers to underscore the central government's support for the festival's heritage and tourism potential.
Officials said the surge in pandals is expected to draw larger crowds, boost local economies, and reinforce Kolkata's reputation as the epicentre of Durga Puja festivities nationwide.
Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata on the opening day of the celebrations, meeting local officials and cultural organizers to underscore the central government's support for the festival's heritage and tourism potential.
Officials said the surge in pandals is expected to draw larger crowds, boost local economies, and reinforce Kolkata's reputation as the epicentre of Durga Puja festivities nationwide.