Kolkata: The city on Friday witnessed a carnival-like atmosphere with thousands of people hitting the streets clad in new dresses, plunging into merriment.
“Sasthi” or “Bodhan” — the welcoming of the Durga idols and her pantheon — signalled the start of the five-day Puja as the eastern metropolis welcomed Goddess Durga with the beats of dhaak (drums), aroma of incense and fragrance of shiuli flowers.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent across a message — “Mother (Goddess Durga) has descended on earth from her abode and let peace prevail”.
Banerjee wished the people of Bengal on Maha Sasthi. In a social media post she said: “Mother arrives amidst us, the earth feels blessed. I greet all my “Maa-Mati-Manush” family on this auspicious occasion. I greet all my Trinamool Congress family too. I greet all in my Government of West Bengal family also. I greet all my brothers and sisters across the planet today.
Wherever in my country or in any part of the world, people are celebrating Navaratri, I greet all of them. Mother has arrived on the earth, let bless and peace prevail in the earth.” Everyone hitting the streets of Kolkata — under heavy security arrangement — was spellbound by the festive look of the city itself. Puja revellers were more interested in visiting Sreebhumi, Simla Byayam Samiti, Kumartuli-Ahiritola, Bagbazar Sarbojanin.
A similar trend was witnessed in South Kolkata as well. The Ekdalia Evergreen, Jodhpur Park-Selimpur-Babubagan area witnessed a massive rise in footfall, similar to ones at Naktala Udayan Sangha, Hindusthan Park zone. Traffic movement was slow in several stretches.
Some of the traditional powerhouses — like Md Ali Park and College Square — witnessed a moderate crowd. Simla Byayam Samiti which carries a historical legacy has always been a favourite destination of the Puja revelers. It witnessed a huge rush on Sasthi. Hatibagan Sarbojanin also registered a huge crowd on Friday.
Like every year, College Square has come up with spectacular lighting. The pandal has been replicated as a temple in Mysore. Meanwhile, the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) has provided 47,275 temporary connections to Puja committees throughout Bengal till Sasthi.
For temporary connections, around 1107.6 MVA extra load demand was met. WBSEDCL received Rs 9.44 crore against these connections as security deposits.
On the evening of Panchami, the demand in WBSEDCL area was 7080 MW, including the additional Puja loads. “To ensure better customer service, 1879 LT mobile vans have been deployed round-the-clock to counter any power disruption/fault across all the districts. Similarly, for HT maintenance, around 1476 mobile vans have been deployed for any emergency,” read a press statement issued by WBSEDCL.