Get NOC to collect soil: SOP route out of month-long Kumartuli clay crisis
Times of India | 15 June 2026
Kolkata: A meeting held on Saturday has resolved the ongoing clay supply crisis. Supplies are expected to resume by the middle of next week. It was decided that before extracting soil, the supplier must obtain an NOC from the landowner along with a copy of their Aadhaar card. Furthermore, the exact amount of the soil must be cleared before extraction begins. To maintain safety standards, all clay extraction must take place at least 50 feet away from the main road.
A severe clay shortage had impacted Durga idol preparation in Kumartuli and other ‘Potua Paras', while the production of general earthenware suffered for the same reason. However, during the meeting—which included representatives from the artisans and an official from the district administration—a solution was found for extracting Etel Mitti (fine clay), which usually comes from Diamond Harbour.
Ranjit Sarkar, joint secretary of the Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskriti Samiti, said, "An official from the South 24 Parganas district administration attended the meeting, and they are taking steps to solve the issue. We had no idea of the proper process for soil extraction during the previous govt's tenure. Kumartuli is famous for idol preparation, yet we are sitting idle at a time when we are supposed to be at our busiest. Laborers have arrived from various districts, but they have had nothing to do because of this deadlock."
The first layer of fine clay is to be applied after preparing the bamboo and straw structures of the idols. Because of the shortage, most artisans are unable to complete this foundational layer or move forward with subsequent steps. Mintu Pal, another artisan, stated, "During this time, trucks carrying clay enter Kumartuli almost every day. However, they stopped coming for at least a month, delaying our preparations."
Sarkar added, the South 24 Parganas district administration promised that unnecessary levies would no longer be charged by different police stations en route to the destination. "This will be a massive relief because those illegal collections had hiked up soil prices in the past," he said.