Four years after UNESCO accorded Bengal’s Durga Puja the status of an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday laid the foundation stone for an ambitious ‘Durganagan’ (Durga Puja complex) in Newtown, envisaging it as a permanent cultural and spiritual landmark for the state.
The project is being developed on over 17 acres of land in Action Area-I of Newtown, directly opposite the Newtown bus stand. The construction responsibility has been entrusted to the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), which also executed the Jagannath Temple project in Digha. According to senior administrative officials, the Durganagan is expected to emerge as one of West Bengal’s most prominent cultural and tourism destinations.
Addressing the gathering at the foundation stone laying ceremony, the Chief Minister said the project was conceived to safeguard and institutionalise the global honour conferred by UNESCO. “To preserve the recognition we have received from UNESCO as a national festival and to pass it on to future generations, Durganagan is necessary,” Mamata said.
She outlined the scale of the project, stating that the complex will span nearly two lakh square feet, with seating arrangements for up to one lakh people in the temple courtyard. The estimated cost of construction is around ₹262 crore. Architectural plans include a 20-foot-wide circumambulatory pathway, 1,008 pillars, a main sanctum rising to a height of 54 metres, along with a lion gate and multiple subsidiary mandaps. Banerjee claimed that the facility would be the largest Durganagan in the world, with arrangements being made to accommodate up to one lakh devotees daily.
“Beyond religious worship, the project will also house dedicated infrastructure for art, heritage studies and cultural activities, reinforcing its positioning as a comprehensive cultural hub rather than a standalone religious structure,” said an official of the state government.
The Durganagan initiative aligns with a series of large-scale religious and cultural infrastructure projects undertaken by the state government in recent months. Earlier this year, Mamata inaugurated the Jagannath Temple in Digha. During her recent visit to North Bengal, the Chief Minister also announced the allocation of land for a new Mahakal Temple in Matigara.
At Monday’s event, Mamata made a key announcement regarding that project, stating that the foundation stone for the Mahakal Temple would be laid in the second week of January. She said the land had already been finalised and architectural plans prepared.
However, the Durganagan project has drawn political criticism. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has objected to the use of government funds for constructing a religious structure, arguing that such initiatives fall outside the constitutional mandate of the state government.
Also read: Mamata targets BJP, ECI over SIR, says ‘next target is Delhi’
Follow us
