Bengal government announces 2026 holiday list with 12-day Puja break
kolkata: The Bengal government on Thursday issued the list of holidays for 2026, announcing a continuous 12-day break starting from Durga Puja to Lakshmi Puja.
Durga Puja holidays will begin on October 15 (Thursday), the day of Chaturthi, and continue till October 26 (Monday). Lakshmi Puja falls on October 25 (Sunday), followed by an additional holiday the next day.
The Kali Puja (8 November) falls on Sunday, but with two additional days after the Puja, followed by Bhaiphonta on November 11 and an additional holiday on November 12, there will be six days of holiday at a stretch. Long weekends are also a special feature of the 2026 holiday list.
Netaji Jayanti on January 23 falls on a Friday. Although it overlaps with Saraswati Puja this year—meaning the two holidays merge—a three-day break (Friday to Sunday) remains guaranteed.
January 26, Republic Day, falls on a Monday, creating another long weekend. May 1, May Day, comes on a Friday, while 15 August, Independence Day, falls on a Saturday, tagging along with the weekend.
The published notification categorises holidays into three sections—List-1, List-2, and List-3.
List 1 (holidays under the N.I. Act) includes 25 days, covering New Year’s Day, Republic Day, Dol Jatra (Holi), Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, and other mandatory holidays.
List 2 includes state-declared holidays such as the day before Saraswati Puja, Ratha Yatra, Rakhi Bandhan, the day after Bhai Phonta, and additional Puja-related holidays. List 3 categories include sectional holidays like Easter Saturday and the Hul Diwas, which are available only to specific communities or groups of employees.
While the overall number of holidays remains substantial, several important ones have unfortunately been “lost” due to their overlap with Sundays.
The notification clarifies that festivals such as Eid and Muharram are subject to the sighting of the moon, and the officially announced dates by television or news media will be treated as final.
