NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2022 (ABP News): The festivities of Durga Puja in West Bengal besides bringing joyous fervor are a grand economic affair involving transactions of at least US$49 million, creating employment opportunities for around 300,000 people. News agency PTI on Monday reported the stakeholders as saying that there were more than 40,000 community pujas across the state, including 3,000 in Kolkata. “The grandeur around the festival involves transactions of not less than $49 million and provides employment to at least 200,000-300,00 people across the state as the activities for the festivities begin three-four months ahead,” said Partho Ghosh, the chairman of Forum For Durgatsab (FFD), an umbrella organization of 400 community pujas, as quoted by PTI.

The five-day festival involves people from different sectors — those building the pandals, making the statues, electricians, security guards, priests, dhakis, laborers associated with statue transportation, and those linked with the arrangement of bhog and catering, he told PTI. “We undertake this monumental task for the sake of the general populace and to preserve our culture,” Ghosh added. The stakeholders also see the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage tag accorded to Durga Puja as a “collective achievement” and hope that the recognition will help prosper the festival in the coming years as well.

More at source.
https://news.abplive.com/lifestyle/west-bengal-durga-puja-2022-festivities-contributing-to-transactions-over-rs-40-000-cr-employing-3-lakh-people-stakeholders-1556538