Puja organisers are worried the controversy could affect the puja economy
All 40 stalls, most of which will sell food, have been allotted. A 22-year-old woman had planned to set up a stall at a Salt Lake puja with her partner. “The committee is charging Rs 50,000.
Several prominent pujas have announced there would be no restriction on non-veg food near their pandals.
We would welcome a clarification from the govt,” said Raja Banik, an organiser of Salt Lake’s AK Block puja. Dum Dum’s BJP MLA Saurav Sikdar, who is steering the Suruchi Sangha puja in New Alipore this year, said caterers such as Bijoli Grill and Apanjan would serve chicken and prawn cutlets and fries at the venue. “Mutton and hilsa will be served at a feast at the club,” he said. BJP senior Kanak Debnath, associated with the Sreebhumi Sporting Club puja, said stalls have already been allotted to caterers serving non-veg food. The organising committee, he said, has been told by the local party leadership that there is no ban on such items near the puja premises. Kolkata Sanatani Sangha, organising its first Durga Puja at Allen Park on Park Street, said there would be no food stalls in the park. “People are free to eat whatever they want at shops outside the park,” said secretary Navin Mishra. We will suffer losses if non-veg food is not allowed,” she said.
How can non-vegetarian food, which is served in Tarapith and Dakshineswar, be restricted during puja? The uncertainty has left small caterers wary of investing. She is now having second thoughts.
The multi-day festivity accounted for nearly 3% to 4% of Bengal’s annual GSDP in recent years, according to some estimates. The festival economy was estimated at Rs 65,000 crore in 2025, with Kolkata alone contributing to around 65%-70% of the business. The food and beverage sector recorded a turnover of around Rs 1,200 crore-Rs 1,500 crore and online food delivery platforms saw peak orders cross 197 a minute during the festive window last year.
Kolkata: Organisers of big-ticket pujas and the catering industry are hoping that the cloud hanging over Durga Puja since Bageshwar Dham Peethadhishwar Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri’s appeal to the “Hindus of Bengal” to keep non-vegetarian food away from puja venues will soon clear.