Bengal Ends Extended Durga Puja Holidays for Hospital Staff

The West Bengal government will end extended Durga Puja holidays for staff at state-run hospitals from 2027 and introduce a duty roster to keep healthcare services running round the clock, Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay said on Friday.

Under the existing practice, the festive break for Bengal hospital staff begins on Sasthi, the sixth day of Durga Puja, and continues until Lakshmi Puja. From next year, that long break will be replaced with scheduled duties during the festival.

Durga Puja holidays practice dates back to Independence

Mukhopadhyay said an unwritten practice dating back to Independence allowed hospital staff to take the extended festive break from Sasthi until Lakshmi Puja. "This practice will end from next year," he said.

"The health department is not like other departments. It is an emergency department. People have to be provided services 24 hours a day, seven days a week," the minister said. He added that since Independence, a festive mood had set in at offices from Sasthi, with holidays continuing until Lakshmi Puja.

Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay said the change was needed because hospitals cannot function like other government departments during the festival season.

The long Durga Puja holidays stretched well beyond the main festival days. With Sasthi marking the start and Lakshmi Puja marking the end, hospital staff were effectively away for the whole festive period, even though emergency care never stops.

Duty roster replaces the Durga Puja holidays

Under the new arrangement, hospitals will introduce a duty roster for staff from Saptami to Dashami during Durga Puja next year. The duty roster will cover all hospital employees across the festive days.

Doctors and nurses will not be assigned a fixed roster but will have to remain available at hospitals as required, the minister said. Staff will not be allowed to take leave in advance for the festival.

From 2027, the Durga Puja holidays will give way to a Puja duty roster for everyone in hospitals from Saptami to Dashami.

Minister calls absences shameful

The announcement followed reports of doctors and other officials remaining absent from hospitals during the festive period, with allegations that some had taken leave without permission.

Mukhopadhyay met health department officials on Friday and expressed displeasure over the reported absences. He said he had called the meeting after the reports reached him and was unhappy with what he had heard.

"This is a shameful matter. Government employees are employees of the people. The health department is an emergency department. We do not have any festivals. We have to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said.

Employees who had taken leave for the current festive period were directed to cancel it and report for duty immediately. "Those who are currently on leave have also been directed to join work from today," the minister said.

The minister's statement was reported by news agencies on Friday evening, and the order applies to staff at hospitals run by the state health department.

Lakshmi Puja follows Durga Puja in the festive calendar, which is why the break ran for several days beyond the main celebration.

The order affects Bengal hospital staff across state-run facilities, where the long Durga Puja holidays had become routine for decades. With the duty roster in place from 2027, the state wants emergency services to run at full strength through the festival, so that the Durga Puja holidays no longer leave wards short of hands.