Dussehra 2026 in Chittagong: Events, Puja & Where to Celebrate
Bijoya Dashami in Chittagong: What You Need to Know
Dussehra — known in the Bengali tradition as Bijoya Dashami — falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, with the Vijaya Dashami observance for Bengali communities in Chittagong sometimes observed on 21 October depending on the local tithi calculation at sunrise. However it is reckoned, the day marks the close of Durga Puja, the most significant festival in the calendar for the Hindu community of this part of the subcontinent, and in Chittagong — Chattogram in Bengali — it arrives each year with a weight and civic presence that makes it unlike almost any other occasion in the city.
Chittagong is home to one of the largest concentrations of Hindu Bangladeshis in the country. The festival is not a private religious matter but a citywide event: pandals are installed across the metropolitan area and the wider district weeks in advance, deities are consecrated in ceremonies that draw large crowds, and for five days — from Shashthi through Bijoya Dashami — a significant portion of the city lives by a different rhythm. By the time Bijoya Dashami arrives, bringing with it the idol processions and the immersion of the goddess into the Karnaphuli River, the festival has already accumulated five days of prayers, cultural performances, and communal celebration.
The Temples at the Centre
No institution in Chittagong carries more significance during the Dussehra season than the Sree Sree Chatteshwari Kali Temple, located in the centre of the city. Dedicated to the goddess Kali and considered one of the prominent Shakta pithas of Bengal, the temple has a history running back to the eighteenth century and a connection to the city's identity that is woven into its very name. "Chatteshwari" means the "goddess of Chattogram," and the presiding deity is understood by devotees across the city as its guardian — the divine presence that watches over and protects its residents. During Durga Puja, the Sree Sree Chatteshwari Kali Temple draws worshippers from across the district and from further afield; its status as an ancient Shakta site gives the puja conducted here a significance that extends well beyond the local neighbourhood.
The temple carries the weight of its own history, too. Damaged during the Liberation War of 1971, it was subsequently rebuilt; the original neem-wood idol, partly destroyed during the conflict and rescued by a member of the Chakraborty family, still stands within the temple alongside a new statue brought from Benaras afterward. That layered history — colonial, wartime, postwar — gives the Sree Sree Chatteshwari Kali Temple a depth that newer places of worship cannot replicate.
Newer to Chittagong's temple geography is the Saraswati Gyan Mandir at the University of Chittagong, inaugurated on Akshaya Tritiya in April 2026. Situated within the university campus, the Saraswati Gyan Mandir serves the Hindu community of students, faculty, and local residents in that part of the city. Its first Durga Puja season, in October 2026, will be an occasion of particular significance as a community establishes new traditions around a new place of worship.
Pandals and the Community at Large
The pandal — the temporary, elaborately decorated structure that houses the Durga idol for the five days of the festival — is where Dussehra becomes a genuinely public spectacle in Chittagong. In recent years, thousands of pandals have been installed across Chittagong district, with several hundred in the metropolitan area alone, each managed by its own neighbourhood puja committee. The artistic ambition of each pandal's design, the scale and craftsmanship of the Durga idol within it, and the quality of the cultural programming — music, dance, drama — all reflect the collective effort and competitive pride of each locality.
Coordination across this sprawling festival landscape falls to the Chattogram Puja Udjapon Parishad, the main body responsible for organising and overseeing Durga Puja celebrations at the district level. The Chattogram Puja Udjapon Parishad works closely with city authorities and law enforcement to ensure that hundreds of simultaneous celebrations run smoothly, and its role becomes most visible on Bijoya Dashami itself, when processions from across the city converge on the Karnaphuli River for the Bisarjan — the immersion of the goddess that formally closes the festival.
How Bijoya Dashami Is Observed
The morning of Bijoya Dashami begins with Aparajita puja — the invocation of victory — before the long ceremonial farewell to the goddess begins. Women apply sindur to the Durga idol and to one another in the sindur khela ritual, a moment of collective joy and emotion that has become one of the festival's most recognised images. The goddess is adorned and honoured one final time, and then the procession begins.
In Chittagong, procession routes pass through the main thoroughfares of the city, accompanied by dhak drums, devotional music, and the concentrated emotion of a community saying farewell to its patron deity for another year. At the Karnaphuli River, the Bisarjan takes place in a sequence of processions that last through the afternoon and into the evening — a moment of grief, relief, and anticipation already coiled inside it for the year ahead.
At home, Bijoya Dashami is equally a day of social visits. Families call on elders, younger members seek blessings, and the greeting "Subho Bijoya" — wishing one another auspicious victory — is exchanged throughout the day and for days afterward. Sweets are distributed, and the festival's communal warmth extends well beyond the Hindu community into the wider social fabric of the city. The day is a public holiday in Bangladesh. Confirm specific pandal timings with local puja committees before you visit, and see our Chittagong page for a full directory of temples and community organisations.
FAQ
When is Dussehra 2026 in Chittagong? Vijayadashami/Dussehra falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. Bengali communities in Chittagong may observe Bijoya Dashami on 21 October depending on local tithi calculations.
What is the most important temple for Durga Puja in Chittagong? The Sree Sree Chatteshwari Kali Temple, in the city centre, is the most significant Shakta pitha in Chittagong and draws the largest number of worshippers during the Durga Puja season.
How many pandals are set up in Chittagong for Durga Puja? In recent years, thousands of pandals have been installed across Chittagong district, with several hundred in the metropolitan area, each managed by its own local puja committee.
Who coordinates the Durga Puja celebrations in Chittagong? The Chattogram Puja Udjapon Parishad is the main coordinating body, working with city and district authorities on logistics, security, and the smooth running of the Bisarjan processions.
What happens on Bijoya Dashami in Chittagong? The day centres on the final Aparajita puja, the sindur khela ritual, and the Bisarjan — processions carrying Durga idols to the Karnaphuli River for immersion. It is also a public holiday, a day of family visits, and the occasion for exchanging Subho Bijoya greetings.
Bottom Line
Dussehra 2026 in Chittagong arrives on 20 October and closes the city's most expansive and emotionally charged festival season. The Sree Sree Chatteshwari Kali Temple, ancient guardian of the city, anchors the religious observance at the heart of the celebrations; the newly inaugurated Saraswati Gyan Mandir at the University of Chittagong adds a significant new site to the festive map; and the Chattogram Puja Udjapon Parishad ensures that thousands of pandals across the district run through to Bisarjan without interruption. For anyone in or visiting Chittagong in October 2026, the five days of Durga Puja and the culminating spectacle of Bijoya Dashami are among the most remarkable public occasions in Bangladesh.