West Bengal Plans Grand Durga Puja Event at Eden Gardens, PM Modi Likely to Attend
West Bengal will host its biggest Durga Puja event at Eden Gardens on Mahalaya, with PM Modi expected, and state-wide celebrations planned for his September 17 birthday.
The West Bengal government will organise a major Durga Puja celebration at the Eden Gardens cricket stadium, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to be present, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said at a Durga Puja preparatory meeting in Kolkata.
Describing the plan, Mr. Adhikari said the event would mark the start of the State's biggest festival on Mahalaya, the day of Durga's arrival, which falls on October 10. "We will have the biggest Durga Puja event on Mahalaya in Eden Gardens. This will be the beginning of the pujas," he said.
The programme, to be organised by the State's Information & Cultural Affairs Department, will feature drone shows and fireworks. A letter has been sent to the Cricket Association of Bengal to book and make the stadium available for a series of cultural and celebratory programmes linked to the proposed Durga Puja celebrations of 2026, including a grand cultural programme from September 25 to October 15, 2026, along with preparatory and dismantling arrangements.
CAB president and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly said such an event was being held at the venue for the first time, and that it would also be the first occasion for the Prime Minister to attend a cultural event at Eden Gardens.
Separately, Mr. Adhikari said diyas would be lit across Kolkata and major buildings illuminated as part of Mr. Modi's birthday celebrations on September 17. These events will be held across the State, with at least one crore families and around 80,000 schools participating, he said. The main event will take place on the ghats of the Ganga, where several candles will be lit.
Students will take part in cultural and educational activities based on their ideas and dreams for India's future, in line with the Viksit Bharat mission for 2047. The Prime Minister will address the people virtually on September 17, Mr. Adhikari added. Multiple cleanliness drives and blood donation camps will also be organised across the State that day.