Only big pandals mean fat money? Why small Durga Puja committees in West Bengal are struggling

Durga Puja committees are local community organisations that plan and manage public celebrations. Their pandals are temporary structures where idols, decorations and festival activities are presented. These celebrations are not only religious and cultural events. They also create a local economy involving advertising, artisans, decorators, visitors, shops and food sellers.

Large committees attract brands because they draw crowds and often build elaborate pandals with LED displays. Smaller committees also depend on advertising and nearby commercial activity, but their reach is more limited. The Forum for Durgotsab represents more than 550 community committees across Kolkata, Howrah and nearby suburbs.

This participation is becoming uneven. The state had 13,000 more pujas this year, yet around 30% of outdoor advertising slots at smaller pujas remained vacant. Big organisers, malls and major retailers gained more commercial benefits, while many smaller committees struggled to attract advertisers and sustain their celebrations.

The gap is clearest in advertising. Established puja organisers reported that their outdoor advertising slots were fully booked. Their rates rose by at least 20%, helped by the growing use of LED displays. Smaller committees faced weaker demand, and about 30% of their outdoor advertising inventory remained unsold.

Commercial activity followed the same pattern. A Primarc Projects mall recorded 17% growth in footfall during the 45-day pre-Puja period. Its visitors rose from nearly five lakh in September to around seven lakh in October, with festive business expected to reach about ₹38 crore. Department store chains also attracted heavy crowds.

The divide is therefore not simply between more and fewer pujas. It concerns where spending is concentrated. Big committees and high-traffic retail locations benefited, while smaller organisers, traditional markets and hawkers found it harder to secure advertising, customers and healthy margins.

Brands concentrate budgets around famous pujas and busy routes because those locations offer greater visibility and audience reach. A single prominent route can expose advertisements to many visitors, shoppers and commuters. This makes spending easier to justify than buying space across numerous smaller celebrations with fewer visitors.

The article reports that advertisers focused on selected routes instead of distributing spending across locations. Park Street, Camac Street and Theatre Road became key advertising hubs. Big-budget pujas also used LED displays, allowing higher advertising rates and more prominent messages. Smaller roads and committees received less interest.

This is a shift from broad local participation toward concentrated commercial exposure. Amit Mitra said brands were going slow on smaller roads and puja committees. As a result, major organisers secured bookings and higher rates, while roughly 30% of smaller puja advertising slots remained vacant.

Advertising is an important source of commercial support for public puja celebrations. When smaller committees cannot sell enough space, they lose income that could help meet costs linked to organising and presenting the festival. The article does not state exactly which activities are cut, so the direct operational outcome cannot be specified.

The clearest example is the advertising market. Around 30% of outdoor advertising slots at smaller pujas remained vacant. At the same time, big-budget pujas raised rates by at least 20% because of LED displays. Advertisers were choosing selected routes and slowing spending on smaller roads and committees.

The immediate reality is a widening gap in capacity and visibility. Large organisers can reinvest stronger advertising receipts into prominent displays and attract more attention. Smaller committees must operate with weaker advertiser demand, making it harder to compete for visitors, brands and commercial activity as the number of pujas grows.

Malls, organised retailers and e-commerce platforms benefit from scale, visibility and concentrated customer traffic. Malls offer many categories in one place, while online platforms make shopping convenient and advertise deep discounts. Traditional markets and hawkers face more direct pressure because customers can compare prices and switch channels quickly.

A Primarc Projects mall saw footfall rise from nearly five lakh in September to around seven lakh in October. Festive business was expected to reach about ₹38 crore. Meanwhile, e-commerce companies reportedly recorded around ₹24,000 crore in sales during the first two days of the festive season. Department store chains also attracted heavy crowds.

Traditional sellers cannot easily match those prices or traffic levels. CWBTA said the price gap was hurting offline retailers. Hawkers reported more bargaining, thinner margins and sales at a loss. Markets including MG Road, Burrabazar, Hatibagan, Shyambazar, Jadavpur and Gariahat were affected.

Economies of scale mean that large businesses can distribute operating, buying and marketing costs across many more sales. They may also negotiate stronger terms with suppliers. Online platforms add broad reach and rapid price comparison. Together, these advantages can support discounts that independent shops may struggle to reproduce.

The article gives the clearest evidence through festive online sales and traditional retailers’ complaints. E-commerce companies reportedly recorded around ₹24,000 crore in the first two days. The CWBTA said the problem was not online shopping itself, but the pricing disparity between digital platforms and physical stores. Large online sellers offered prices traditional retailers could not match.

Small shops then face a difficult choice. They can reduce prices and accept thinner margins, or keep prices higher and lose customers. Hawkers reported that bargaining was already thinning margins and sometimes forcing sales at a loss. The article identifies the price gap, but does not detail each platform’s cost structure.

Small retailers, hawkers and community organisations depend more on local customers, modest advertising and limited resources. They usually have less ability to absorb a bad season or invest in expensive displays. When spending shifts to malls, online platforms and famous pujas, their smaller customer and advertiser base becomes a serious weakness.

The article shows this through several pressures. About 30% of advertising slots at smaller pujas were vacant. Hawkers faced online competition, department stores, malls, stronger bargaining and possible eviction by Kolkata Municipal Corporation engineers after Puja. Traditional retailers also could not match online prices. These pressures reduce both sales and margins.

Government policy is another concern raised by economist Saibal Kar. He argued that the push for big capital was unfavourable to small retailers and hawkers. The article says MSMEs provide employment to around 600 million people, and Kar called for a proactive approach to protect small businesses from these shifts.