West Bengal's government has announced 51 public holidays for 2026, up from 47 in 2025. The new list includes Mahalaya as a public holiday and an extra day off after Durga Puja, extending the festive break. This means residents can enjoy nearly two months of holidays throughout the year. However, not everyone is happy. Shailendra Singh of Prakash Bulb Industries said, "During the Left regime, there were fewer closures than today. Now, government workers have more reasons not to work. The autumn of 2026 will see Bengal almost shut from Mahalaya to Chhath Puja." Arabinda Dasgupta, head of Kolkata's oldest bookstore, said the rise in holidays hurts businesses. “The increasing number of holidays has started becoming a hindrance to businesses all over. While the privileged class enjoys its holiday siesta, the unorganised sector suffers greatly. Earlier, Durga puja used to be for four days, that’s it. Now, it has stretched to nearly half a month.” He added it’s common for people to call and ask if shops are open on these many holidays. Economics professor Ishita Mukhopadhyay warned that more holidays could harm education. “There is already unemployment. Schools and colleges are often closed. They will be closed more often next year. This will obviously harm the education of children and youth, which is already jeopardised,” she said. The ruling Trinamool Congress has added extra holidays for many festivals, sometimes before or after the event. For example, Saraswati Puja in 2026 falls on Friday with an added holiday on Thursday, creating a long weekend. A government employee said these holidays reflect Bengal’s strong cultural pride and the need to respect diverse communities and festivals. They noted the problem lies in clustering holidays, causing pauses in work during some months rather than spreading out closures through the year.