Kolkata’s major Durga Puja committees are retaining their traditional mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food stalls, while agreeing to follow fire-safety rules that prohibit cooking within 200 yards, or about 183 metres, of a pandal.
Organisers of pujas in south, north and central Kolkata told The Telegraph that they had received no formal government instruction to restrict stalls to vegetarian food. Instead, they said their focus remained on compliance with fire-safety requirements and managing large crowds around the temporary structures.
“There is no directive on not allowing non-veg near pandals. So we will stick to our old ways. We will not impose any restriction on the choice of food at all,” Kajal Sarkar of Bosepukur Sitala Mandir said, according to the report. The committee’s representative said the organisers were concentrating on safety measures near the pandal rather than the vegetarian or non-vegetarian character of food sold nearby.
Under fire department regulations cited in the report, registered Puja committees must give an undertaking that cooking will not take place within 200 yards of a pandal. The rule does not specify the type of food that can be sold. Food commonly available near Kolkata’s pandals includes egg and chicken rolls, biryani, chowmein, steamed momos and jhalmuri.
The decision has also been shaped by the financial role of stalls in community Puja budgets. Several organisers said stall revenue was a significant source of income alongside corporate sponsorship. Unlike sponsorship, they said, income from stalls was relatively predictable and helped committees plan their festival expenditure.
At Badamtala Ashar Sangha in Kalighat, organiser Sandip Chakraborty said no rule had been introduced requiring stall owners to sell only vegetarian food. Visitors could walk past the pandal while eating an egg or chicken roll, he said, although people rarely entered the main pandal while eating.
The 108-year-old Bagbazar Sarbojonin Durgotsav Committee also said it had received no instruction to arrange only vegetarian stalls. Goutam Neogy said the committee had started preparations late after receiving clearance from Calcutta High Court and had no time to spare for the food debate. The committee recently held its khuti puja, an early ceremony marking the start of preparations.
In south Kolkata, the organisers of Maddox Square said their stalls would include momos, biryani, rolls and beverages. Animesh Chattopadhyay said the Puja would enter its 91st year and that its arrangements would be more elaborate this time. Suruchi Sangha in Alipore said it would try to retain its existing food-stall arrangements without entering the political debate over food choice.
In north Kolkata, the Tala Barowari Puja committee said its food stalls would be placed more than 200 metres from the main mandap. Abhishek Bhattacharya said there would be no restriction on the type of food sold at those stalls. He added that visitors washed their hands and mouths before entering the main area where the idol was placed.
The debate intensified after Dhirendra Shastri, a monk from Madhya Pradesh, criticised the consumption of non-vegetarian food around Durga Puja pandals in Bengal. His comments led to protests and political exchanges. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari later told the Assembly that people could accept or reject the monk’s view and that he had not forced anyone. The report also noted that Suvendu ate a prasad of fried fish and fish head in public at the Kalighat temple.
For Puja committees, the immediate operational question remains the location and management of stalls rather than the classification of food. Organisers have indicated that they will continue with mixed food offerings while observing the fire department’s distance requirement and other applicable government regulations.
