Bidhannagar Mela Utsav is starting on December 1. Salt Lake’s favourite fair will be back at Central Park this winter and continue till December 21.
The fair will be opened by Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim in the presence of a host of ministers, MPs and MLAs.
“The fair will have 500 stalls, as in other years, and be divided into around 335 stand-alone stalls, 15 pavilions, 60 kiosks and 88 dalas,” announced mayor Krishna Chakraborty last week. The fair is organised by Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. “We usually get international participation from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey and Egypt, and expect them to take up space this year as well.” Bangladesh stalls were discouraged from participating last time due to the political climate across the border.
Last winter’s edition of the fair. A Telegraph file picture
There will be food courts and play zones for children and the evenings will feature cultural performances by local artistes as well as those from beyond the township. “The cultural evenings are very popular and my phone is ringing incessantly, with calls from artistes from as far away as Santiniketan. Everyone wants a chance to perform here,” said Chakraborty. Certain days will be celebrated for specific causes too, such as senior citizen’s day and sports day, when the elderly and sportspeople will be feted.
The dates of the fair have been fixed so there is ample time to prepare for the International Kolkata Book Fair that will be held from January 22 to February 3, 2026.
Last year, the fair was held twice — from February 20 to March 12, and again from December 17 to January 6, 2025. This was because the Book Fair was brought forward in 2024 — to a January 18 start — to avoid a clash with the Board examinations which happened much earlier as a domino effect of the Lok Sabha polls starting in April. That had left no window for Bidhannagar Mela (Utsav) to be held in December 2023. So it had to be held after the Book Fair.
This year, the Book Fair is being held a week earlier because of Madhyamik examination starting on February 2.
“We had invited tenders to pick an event manager for Bidhannagar Mela Utsav, and among the six that we received, MK Enterprise has won it, quoting Rs 1,91,00,500,” Chakraborty said. “Various councillors will additionally take charge of the sub-committees for smooth execution. Everyone, especially the elderly, awaits this fair, and we shall put up a great show.”
For years now, the Corporation has been using funds raised from this fair to build a cultural centre, Rabindra Bhavan, in FE Block, opposite the Netaji statue. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 41.9 crore, of which the foundation has already been laid, with Rs 7.25 crore. The structural work of the ground floor and first floor is underway, at a cost of Rs 3.65 crore. “Rabindra Bhavan is our dream project, and we are inching towards making it a reality,” Chakraborty said.