Only big pandals mean big bucks? Why small Durga Puja Committees in West Bengal are facing problems

The economy of Durga Puja in West Bengal shows a widening gap between big organizers and smaller community celebrations, even as the number of pujas across the state is increasing.

Government figures showed that 13,000 more pujas were held this year than last year. However, the commercial benefits of the festive season remained uneven, with major puja committees, malls, organized retailers and e-commerce platforms reporting brisk business, while smaller organizers, traditional markets and vendors struggled to keep up, news agency PTI reported.

Large and established puja organizers have reported fully occupied outdoor advertising spaces, with rates increasing by at least 20% due to the growing use of LED displays. However, smaller committees faced weaker demand from advertisers, leaving some of the advertising inventory unsold.

Kajol Sarkar, representative of the Forum for Durgotsab, an umbrella body representing more than 550 community Durga Puja committees in Kolkata, Howrah and their suburbs, said advertisers concentrated their spend on select routes rather than spreading it across venues.

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According to him, around 30% of the outdoor advertising space at smaller pujas remained vacant.

“Advertising rates for big-budget pujas have gone up by at least 20 percent thanks to LED displays, but brands have rationalized spending by going slow on smaller roads and puja committees,” Amit Mitra, executive vice-president of Pioneer Publicity Corporation told PTI.

Park Street, Camac Street and Theater Road have emerged as key advertising hubs, partly because these areas fall under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s Bhabanipur constituency.

Malls and organized retailers report festive growth

Organized retail saw stronger activity during the festive season. Siddharth Pansari, managing director of Primarc Projects Private Limited, said that the company’s mall saw around 17% increase in footfall during the 45-day period leading up to Puja compared to last year.

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“We are seeing strong demand for women’s wear, children’s wear, footwear, men’s casual wear and beauty products along with high value shopping at leading retail outlets,” he told PTI.

The footprint increased from nearly five million in September to around seven million in October. Festive trade was expected to reach approx ₹38 crore during the month, Pansari said.

Chain stores such as Style Bazaar, Bazaar Kolkata, Fashion Bazaar and Zudio also attracted large crowds across Kolkata and its surrounding areas, reflecting the demand among middle and mass market consumers.

Online discounts are putting traditional retailers under pressure

The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA) on Monday expressed concern over the volume of online festive sales and deep discounts offered by e-commerce platforms, saying the price difference between online and offline sellers is hurting traditional retailers.

E-commerce companies have reportedly recorded around ₹24,000 crore in sales in the first two days of the festive season.

CWBTA president Sushil Poddar said the problem is not the proliferation of online shopping itself, but the price difference between digital platforms and physical stores.

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“Traditional retailers are losing business because they simply cannot match the prices offered by the big online platforms,” he said.

Asit Kumar Saha, representative of Hawkers Joint Action Committee, said that online shopping, department stores and malls have affected small traders in traditional markets including MG Road, Burrabazar, Hatibagan, Shyambazar, Jadavpur and to some extent Gariahat.

“The threat of eviction by Kolkata Municipal Corporation engineers after Puja has added to their anxiety. Customers are bargaining more, cutting margins or even forcing sales at a loss,” he said.

Economists are expressing concern about small businesses

Saibal Kar, an economist and professor at the Center for Social Science Studies, Calcutta, said that the Puja shopping economy in Calcutta has traditionally served two broad groups of consumers: the relatively wealthy shoppers who patronized malls and big brands, and the larger segment who purchased clothing from markets such as Rashbehari, Burrabazar and Hatibagan.

“There is pressure from the government which is not favorable to small retailers or hawkers. The government in Bengal is looking for big capital and trying to protect its interests. There is a concerted effort to push out small traders and hawkers with the new permit,” Kar said.

He also noted the role of big businesses in advertising around the Puja celebrations.

“Kolkata was a place for everyone. The changes show that we are moving around the rest of India,” he said.

Pointing out that the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector provides employment to around 600 million people, Kar said the government should take a proactive approach to protect small businesses, which are less vulnerable to international shocks.