The Suvendu Adhikari government in West Bengal has announced that on the day of Ashtami during the upcoming Durga Puja festivities, all liquor shops across the state will be closed. On that day, alcohol will also not be served in bars and restaurants.
Alcohol shops remain open in West Bengal during Shashti to Navami, while they remain closed on Dashami or the day of Dussehra.
Ashtami this year falls on Monday, 19 October.
With this new order of the BJP government, there will be two dry days in West Bengal during Durga Puja.
"On the day when devotees offer anjali (Maha Ashtami) to Maa Durga, all liquor shops in the state will remain closed. There will be no liquor available in bars either," CM Adhikari said while addressing a coordination meeting with Durga Puja committees at Milan Mela Prangan in Kolkata, PTI reported.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari also announced that his government will be paying a sum of ₹1 lakh to clubs of localities where pujas are organised. However, he has appealed to big-budget puja committees to not apply for the funds if they don't need the same.
The WB government has also announced concessions in electricity and fire prevention bills to the puja committees.
The Suvendu administration has also appealed to the puja committees that traditions involving the Durga puja should be followed strictly, and that themes, the idol of the goddess, or the decorations of the pandals should not have anything that hurts the religious sentiments of worshippers.
Organisers, however, will not have to approach the courts for permission to conduct the puja, Adhikari said.
A government-organised Durga Puja programme will be held at Eden Gardens on Mahalaya, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend. The four-hour event will include drone and fireworks displays, Adhikari said, as per PTI.
Immersions of idols, popularly known as 'visarjan' or 'bhashan' in Bengali, have to be carried out before 24 October, the government has announced, since 25 October is Lakshmi Puja in Bengal.
Inauguarations of Pujas will not be allowed before Devi Paksha commences, Adhikari has said.
The government has also said that the use of disc jokeys (DJs) or cranes during pujas or immersions has been banned.
Adhikari has also said that unlike every year, the Durga Puja carnival, in which idols of the goddess from some of the top pujas in Kolkata were paraded on Red Road in the presence of former CM Mamata Banerjee, will be discontinued.
The meeting on Monday was held as West Bengal prepares for its first Durga Puja under a BJP government after 34 years of Left and 15 years of TMC rule.
