Honours: 113 pujas awarded ‘Sharad Samman’, 24 in ‘Serar Sera’ category; Carnival in the districts on October 4

Kolkata: A total of 113 community pujas in Kolkata and its surrounding areas, which have been awarded the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman 2025, will take part in the Red Road Carnival scheduled for October 5, announced Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs (I&CA), Indranil Sen.

Sen, in the presence of Santanu Basu, Principal Secretary of the department, and other senior officials, revealed the names of the Puja committees that have won the Sharad Samman across seven categories on Saturday. Twenty-four Puja committees have been placed in the “Serar Sera” category, while 26 have received the ‘Special Prize’. The Durga Angan album, featuring 17 songs penned by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and performed by several renowned singers, has been selected as the Best Puja Album. The announcement also highlighted other category winners, reflecting the rich cultural and artistic contributions of the city’s community pujas. The announcement also highlighted other category winners, reflecting the rich cultural and artistic contributions of the city’s community pujas.

In the ‘Serar Sera’ (Best of the Best) category, the awards have gone to Ballygunge Cultural, Suruchi Sangha, Chetla Agrani, Barisha Club, Sreebhumi Sporting, Behala Natun Dal, Tala Pratyoy, Kalighat Milan Sangha, Bodyguard Lines, Ahritola Sarbojonin, 41 Pally Haridevpur, Dum Dum Tarun Dal, Tridhara Akalbodhan, Bidhannagar AK Block, Chakraberia Sarbojonin, and Arjunpur Amra Sabai, to name a few. As many as 12 clubs that have made it in the Sera Sabeki Puja (best traditional) list are Ekdalia Evergreen, Bagbazar Sarbojonin, Mudiali Club, College Square, Samajsevi Sangha, Singhi Park, Simla Byayam Samiti, among others. Moreover, 14 Puja organisers have bagged awards in the Best Environment category, which includes Ajeyo Sanghati, Sikdarbagan, Tala Barowari, Sanghashree, etc. Seven awards were announced for the Best Idol category, 13 in the category of Best Pandal (Sera Mandap), 17 awards in the category of Best Thought (Sera Bhabna), while Special Prize (Bisesh Puraskar) went to 26 pujas. Sen announced that the carnival in the districts will be held on October 4. In the districts, the Sharad Samman awards have been given in 4 categories. The Bengal government has been awarding Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman since 2013.