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Bengal Confirms 2026 Holiday Calendar With 12-Day DurgaLakshmi Puja Break

With weekends included, the roster leaves state employees off for more than 150 days.

Overview

  • The West Bengal Finance Department’s notification sets a continuous Oct. 15–26 holiday stretch from Durga Puja through the additional day after Lakshmi Puja.
  • Six festival observances fall on Sundays and will not yield extra days off: Shivaratri (Feb 15), Durga Puja Saptami (Oct 18), Lakshmi Puja (Oct 25), Kali Puja (Nov 8), Chhath Puja, and Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary (Nov 15).
  • Kali Puja on Nov. 8, two subsequent additional days, Bhaiphonta on Nov. 11, and an extra day on Nov. 12 create a six-day November break.
  • The calendar organizes holidays into List‑1 (Negotiable Instruments Act), List‑2 (state-declared), and List‑3 (sectional), with Eid and Muharram dates subject to official moon‑sighting announcements.
  • The notification adds Mahalaya as a public holiday and includes an extra post‑Puja Saturday, extending the autumn shutdown period.