Durga Puja 2026 in Kolkata: Dates, Best Pandals, Metro and New Rules
Updated 2026-10-12 · 8 min read · by the kolkata2go team
Durga Puja 2026 in Kolkata runs from Maha Shashthi on Saturday 17 October to Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October. Pandals have been opening since Mahalaya on 10 October, so the crowds start well before Shashthi. Three things are new this year: there is no carnival on Red Road, DJs are barred from pandals and immersion processions, and Ashtami is a dry day. The metro will run through the night from 17 to 20 October. This guide covers the dates, the pandals people are talking about, two routes that work, and how to get around. For events added daily, see our Durga Puja hub.
Durga Puja 2026 dates
These are the Kolkata dates from the most widely used calendars, checked against the state holiday list.
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Mahalaya | Sat, 10 Oct | Devi Paksha begins; pandals start opening |
| Panchami | Fri, 16 Oct | Most big pandals open to visitors by now |
| Maha Shashthi | Sat, 17 Oct | Bodhon, the unveiling of the goddess |
| Maha Saptami | Sun, 18 Oct | Kola Bou (Nabapatrika) bath at dawn |
| Maha Ashtami | Mon, 19 Oct | Anjali, Kumari Puja, Sandhi Puja; dry day |
| Maha Navami | Tue, 20 Oct | Last full night of pandal-hopping |
| Bijoya Dashami | Wed, 21 Oct | Sindoor Khela and immersion |
| Lakshmi Puja | Sun, 25 Oct | Kojagari Lakshmi Puja at home and in pandals |
A note on the first two rows: panjikas differ by a day on Panchami and Shashthi this year. Kolkata Metro’s festival schedule treats 15 and 16 October as Panchami and Shashthi and starts its overnight running on the 17th. Either way, the four big nights are 17, 18, 19 and 20 October.
What is different in 2026
The state government changed in May 2026, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a new set of Puja rules to committee representatives on 7 September. The ones that affect visitors:
- No Red Road carnival. The post-Dashami parade of idols on Red Road, held since 2016, has been dropped. The state’s official opening was instead a Mahalaya programme scheduled at Eden Gardens on 10 October, with a drone show.
- No DJs. DJ music is not allowed at pandals or in immersion processions.
- Ashtami is a dry day. Liquor shops and bars are to stay closed on Monday 19 October.
- Roads stay open. Committees have been refused permission to block 13 arterial roads in the city, and cranes are banned at immersions.
- Grants. The government grant of ₹1 lakh now goes to smaller committees; the larger clubs were asked to forgo it.
The scale is unchanged. Kolkata has about 3,000 community pujas, and the festival has been on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage since December 2021.
The pandals everyone is talking about
Themes are announced late and change, so treat this as reporting from the first week of October rather than a final list. Stations are the nearest metro; where none is close, we say so.
| Pandal | Area | 2026 theme | Nearest metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sreebhumi Sporting Club | Lake Town | Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal | None close; bus or cab on VIP Road |
| Santosh Mitra Square | Lebutala, near Sealdah | “Sanatani Chetanay Vande Mataram” | Sealdah (Green), 7 min walk |
| Ekdalia Evergreen Club | Gariahat | Somnath Temple | Kalighat (Blue), then auto |
| Suruchi Sangha | New Alipore | “Lotus” | Rabindra Sarobar (Blue), then auto |
| Alipore Sarbojanin | Chetla | “Ramayana: An Epic Woven in Time” | Kalighat (Blue), about 1 km |
| Chaltabagan Lohapatty | Manicktala | “Nishan – The Mark” | Girish Park (Blue), then walk east |
| Ballygunge Samaj Sebi Sangha | Ballygunge | Tribute to Uttam Kumar | Kalighat (Blue), 15 min walk |
| Kumartuli Park | Kumartuli | “Journey of Ganga” | Sovabazar Sutanuti (Blue) |
| Jagat Mukherjee Park | Jatindra Mohan Avenue | Tribute to Uday Shankar | Sovabazar Sutanuti (Blue) |
| Shibmandir | Near Rabindra Sarobar | “Porob”, after Rajasthan’s Gangaur | Rabindra Sarobar or Kalighat (Blue) |
A few details worth knowing. Santosh Mitra Square, in its 91st year, marks 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’ with Partition-era photographs, a Red Fort replica and, for the first time, a light-and-sound show. Sreebhumi’s Hawa Mahal is reported to have 953 windows, like the original. Chaltabagan’s theme honours the Ramnami community of Chhattisgarh, with a soundtrack by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Ballygunge Samaj Sebi Sangha’s pandal, built with artists from the Government College of Art and Craft, marks Uttam Kumar’s centenary. And Allen Park on Park Street, better known for Christmas, is hosting a Durga Puja for the first time.
A North Kolkata night
North Kolkata is where the festival is oldest, and the pandals sit close enough to walk between. Start at Sovabazar Sutanuti station on the Blue Line.
- Kumartuli Park and the potters’ lanes. The workshops of Kumartuli are empty of idols by now, but the neighbourhood’s own pujas are a few minutes from the station.
- Jagat Mukherjee Park on Jatindra Mohan Avenue, then Ahiritola Sarbojanin towards the river.
- Sovabazar Rajbari. Nabakrishna Deb began this family puja in 1757. It is a thakur dalan with a traditional ekchala idol, not a theme pandal, and the courtyard is open to visitors.
- Bagbazar Sarbojanin, about 15 minutes’ walk north, for one of the city’s best-loved traditional idols and a fairground atmosphere.
- Kashi Bose Lane and Hatibagan on the way back to Shyambazar or Sovabazar station.
With energy left, take the metro two stops south to Mahatma Gandhi Road for Mohammad Ali Park and College Square, where the pandal is reflected in the swimming pool, and walk on to Santosh Mitra Square. Our North Kolkata page has more on the area.
A South Kolkata night
South Kolkata’s big pandals are spread along Rashbehari Avenue and the lake. Start at Kalighat station.
- Badamtala Ashar Sangha, a few minutes from the station, then Deshapriya Park on Rashbehari Avenue.
- Tridhara Sammilani and Ballygunge Samaj Sebi Sangha, both a short walk from Deshapriya Park.
- Maddox Square, the place to sit down. It is known less for its theme than for the crowd that settles on the lawn for hours of adda.
- An auto east along Rashbehari Avenue to Gariahat for Ekdalia Evergreen and Singhi Park.
- Back west by auto for Shibmandir near Rabindra Sarobar, or south to Suruchi Sangha in New Alipore and the Chetla pandals.
Lake Town’s Sreebhumi does not fit either route. Give it its own trip, late at night or before 9 am, and combine it with the Dum Dum Park pujas nearby. Details are on our Dum Dum and Lake Town page.
The old family pujas
The bonedi bari pujas, held in the courtyards of old families, are the opposite of the theme pandals: the same idol form every year, rituals unchanged for generations, no queue management and no loudspeakers. The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family’s puja at Barisha in Behala is traced to 1610 and is generally counted as the city’s oldest. Sovabazar Rajbari’s dates from 1757. Most houses welcome respectful visitors in the morning and early evening; dress modestly and ask before photographing rituals. Several operators run guided bonedi bari walks during the Puja days, listed on our heritage walks page.
Across the river, Belur Math holds its Kumari Puja on Ashtami morning, 19 October. It draws a very large crowd, so go early.
Metro, trains and traffic
Metro. According to the timetable reported on 8 October:
| Dates | Line | Service |
|---|---|---|
| 15–16 Oct | Blue and Green | 6 am to 11 pm |
| 17–20 Oct | Blue | 248 services a day, 1 pm to 4 am |
| 17–20 Oct | Green | 192 services a day, 1:30 pm to 3:59 am |
| 21 Oct (Dashami) | Blue | 140 services, 1 pm to 10:30 pm |
Note the 1 pm start on the main days: there are no morning trains. Blue Line trains currently terminate at Shahid Khudiram in the south, because the New Garia terminus is being rebuilt.
Suburban trains. Eastern Railway has announced 51 extra Sealdah-division locals between 16 and 21 October, 38 of them between 11 pm and 5 am.
Roads. Kolkata Police’s pedestrian-first zones and one-way systems around the pandal clusters start from 4 pm on 13 October and from 3 pm daily after that, with no-parking rules inside pandal zones and timed bans on goods vehicles. Expect closures around Gariahat, Deshapriya Park, the Lake area and Kalighat in the south, and around BK Paul Avenue and Aurobindo Sarani in the north. The traffic control room is on 1073 and 033-2214-3644.
What to eat
Puja food comes in three kinds. Bhog is the free community lunch of khichuri, labra, chutney and payesh served at many pandals on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami; ask at a neighbourhood puja in the morning. Street food lines every pandal approach: egg rolls, fish fry, Mughlai paratha, ghugni and phuchka. Restaurants run special Puja menus and stay open late, but queues at the well-known Bengali places run to an hour or more, so book or go at odd hours. Remember that bars are closed on Ashtami. More on our food festivals page.
Dashami: Sindoor Khela and immersion
On Wednesday 21 October, married women bid the goddess farewell with Devi Baran and then smear each other with vermilion in Sindoor Khela, usually from late morning to mid-afternoon. Bagbazar Sarbojanin and the family houses are the best-known places to watch. Immersions follow at the Hooghly ghats, with Babughat the busiest. With the Red Road carnival dropped, there is no single showpiece event after Dashami this year, and the state has asked committees to complete immersions before Lakshmi Puja on 25 October.
Practical tips
- Pick your hours. Midnight to 4 am and 6 to 9 am have the shortest queues at the famous pandals.
- One zone a night. North, south and Lake Town are each a full evening.
- Shoes matter. You will walk 8 to 10 km without noticing.
- Carry water, a power bank and small change. Mobile networks slow down in dense crowds.
- Keep children tagged with a phone number, and agree a meeting point at every pandal.
- Use the separate entry and exit lanes. Police have asked every committee to provide them this year.
Once the idols are immersed, the city turns to Kali Puja on 8 November. Our Kali Puja and Diwali guide picks up from there, and this weekend’s listings show what is on tonight.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Durga Puja 2026 dates in Kolkata?
Maha Shashthi is Saturday 17 October, Saptami Sunday 18, Ashtami Monday 19, Navami Tuesday 20 and Bijoya Dashami Wednesday 21 October 2026. Mahalaya was on Saturday 10 October. Kolkata Metro's festival timetable counts Panchami and Shashthi as 15 and 16 October.
Is there a Durga Puja carnival on Red Road in 2026?
No. The West Bengal government announced on 7 September 2026 that the post-Dashami carnival on Red Road, held since 2016, would not be organised this year.
Will the metro run all night during Durga Puja 2026?
Kolkata Metro has announced overnight services on the Blue and Green Lines from 17 to 20 October, with Blue Line trains from 1 pm to 4 am and Green Line trains from 1:30 pm to about 4 am. Confirm on the Metro's own channels before you travel.
Which are the must-see pandals in 2026?
This year's lists feature Sreebhumi Sporting Club (Hawa Mahal), Santosh Mitra Square (Vande Mataram), Ekdalia Evergreen (Somnath Temple), Suruchi Sangha ('Lotus'), Chaltabagan, Kumartuli Park, Jagat Mukherjee Park and Ballygunge Samaj Sebi Sangha. For tradition, add Bagbazar Sarbojanin and the Sovabazar Rajbari.
Is Ashtami a dry day in Kolkata in 2026?
Yes. The state has declared Maha Ashtami, Monday 19 October 2026, a dry day, with liquor shops and bars closed.
When is Lakshmi Puja 2026?
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday 25 October 2026. The state has asked puja committees to finish immersions before then.
Sources checked
- www.theweek.in/news/india/2026/09/07/durga-puja-west-bengal-changes.amp.ht
- thefederal.com/category/features/top-10-theme-pandals-kolkata-durga-puja-2
- hindutone.com/festivals/navratri/kolkata-durga-puja-2026-pandal-themes-ne
- hindutone.com/festivals/durga-puja-2026-dates-kolkata-mahalaya-to-sindoor
- www.uniindia.com/east-india/transport-kolkata-metro-durga-puja/207580
- www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/kolkata-durga-puja-2026-traffic-restrictions-i
- www.nativeplanet.com/news/durga-puja-2026-eastern-railway-runs-51-special-sealda
- organiser.org/2026/09/08/379341/bharat/no-djs-liquor-sale-ban-on-ashtami-
- curlytales.com/first-time-in-yrs-kolkatas-park-street-to-host-durga-puja-c
- wbxpress.com/holiday-list-west-bengal-government-employees-2026/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja_in_Kolkata
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shobhabazar_Rajbari
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Line_(Kolkata_Metro)
Researched and written by the kolkata2go editors. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
