Kolkata’s Red Road will remain closed to traffic until the morning of October 11 for a four-day Mahalaya carnival linked to the start of Durga Puja festivities in Bengal, Kolkata Police deputy commissioner (traffic) Sambhav Jain said. The closure began on Tuesday night after an order issued by police commissioner Ajay Nand.
The police notification stated that the road would be shut for 24 hours from 10pm on Tuesday and remain closed “till late night on 10.10.2026 or till early morning on 11.10.2026”, depending on what was considered necessary for the safe and smooth execution of event-related activities. These activities include the installation, operation, movement of equipment and dismantling of works.
Jain clarified that the restriction would not be limited to a single night or a partial daytime closure. “Red Road will be closed to traffic till the morning of October 11,” he told Metro, confirming that motorists would be allowed back on the road only after the four-day event period.
The traffic police have prepared diversions for vehicles affected by the closure. North-bound traffic on Kidderpore Road will be diverted through Dufferin Road and Outram Road. South-bound vehicles travelling along Red Road Avenue and Government Place (East) will be diverted via Mayo Road and Dufferin Road.
“All the stakeholders, including the traffic guards, have been informed about the diversions,” Jain said. The arrangements place Dufferin Road at the centre of both diversion routes, making traffic management on the surrounding central Kolkata roads particularly important while the closure remains in force.
The programme is scheduled to begin on Red Road and conclude at Eden Gardens. It is being held to mark the start of Durga Puja festivities in Bengal. Governor R.N. Ravi, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and members of his cabinet are scheduled to attend, according to the report. Plans for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to attend have changed, sources in the state government said.
The extended closure is the second in four months involving Red Road. The arterial road was shut for a week from the night of June 14 to the afternoon of June 21 for International Yoga Day, when the Prime Minister was scheduled to attend an event there.
Red Road’s repeated use for large public programmes means that traffic restrictions are being planned not only around the event itself but also around the installation and dismantling of temporary infrastructure. The current police order will remain in effect until the morning of October 11, when the road is scheduled to reopen to motorists.
