Cops, home guards will get extra 10-days holiday for extended Puja duty: Govt

Bengal government has announced a reward of 10 days of additional leave for police personnel and home guard volunteers. The decision comes as an acknowledgement of their grueling, round-the-clock deployments during festive periods like Durga Puja and other major government holidays. While the common citizens enjoy the festivities with their families, these frontline security personnel spend their days managing crowds and maintaining strict law and order on the streets.

According to the official guidelines released by the state Home and Hill Affairs Department (Police Establishment Branch), the benefit is broadly inclusive. The circular specifies that the added leave package will apply to all ranks of the West Bengal State Police, Kolkata Police, and Home Guard volunteers. The 10-day break is strategically structured, offering a combination of eight days of casual leave and two days of special leave.

However, the administration has outlined specific criteria and strict timelines for availing of this festive reward. To qualify for these additional holidays, police personnel and home guards must have been on active duty for a minimum of seven days during the designated holiday periods. Furthermore, the guidelines explicitly mandate that this entire chunk of leave must be utilized by December 31 of this year.

The notification also clarifies operational limits to ensure that regular police deployments do not collapse. Officers are prohibited from combining this 10-day block with any other major official holidays or local gazetted leaves, outside of their standard casual leave provisions. Political circles view this sudden administrative gesture from Nabanna as a vital morale booster for the state’s massive security apparatus.