City reverberates with Puja fervour on Panchami as thousands flood streets

Kolkata: Kolkata streets basked in Puja fervour as revellers thronged pandals on Panchami evening, braving rain warnings from the Alipore MeT office. Umbrellas bobbed through the crowds as devotees and families navigated the festive maze, determined not to miss a glimpse of the goddess and her entourage. Even office-goers joined celebrations, squeezing in quick pandal-hopping after work. Major pujas across the city saw enormous crowds, including Tala Prattoy, Sreebhumi Sporting Club, Bagbazar Sarbojanin, Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra and Jagat Mukherjee Park to name a few. Despite the weather alerts, the spirit of Durga Puja proved unstoppable, as revellers soaked in the sights, sounds, and energy of the festival, turning Panchami evening into a vibrant spectacle across Kolkata. Police reported that the city’s major pujas attracted thousands of visitors on Panchami evening. To ensure smooth pandal-hopping, the city police implemented several measures, including controlling auto movement from 3 pm on nearly all arterial roads. Additional volunteers from NCC and allied units were deployed to manage the crowds. Visitors were seen clicking photographs and selfies in front of the elaborate pandals, while Ekdalia Evergreen overflowed with devotees and festival enthusiasts, capturing the essence of Kolkata’s grand Puja celebrations.

Mudiali Club, too, saw a huge surge in crowd by 8 pm. At 41 Pally, the organisers were overwhelmed to see the excitement among the people. Many visitors travelled from districts to complete pandal-hopping before returning home for the main days of Puja. At Santosh Mitra Square, with the theme “Operation Sindoor”, there was a huge queue. Heavy turnout was also reported at Kumartuli Park. A majority of the pandal hoppers said they wanted to wrap up their Puja hopping early, as there is a prediction of rainfall. The Lake Town-Nagerbazar stretch, home to Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra, Dum Dum Park Tarun Dal, and Arjunpur Amra Sobai Club, saw similar footfall. People were seen starting pandal hopping at Bagbazar Sarbojonin, Santosh Mitra Square, Deshapriya Park, Maddox Square, Suruchi Sangha and other big-ticket Pujas from the afternoon. In the evening, the crowd surged further. Meanwhile, a total of 113 community pujas in Kolkata and its surrounding areas, which have been awarded the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman 2025, will take part in the Red Road Carnival scheduled for October 5, announced Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs (I&CA), Indranil Sen. Sen, in the presence of Santanu Basu, Principal Secretary of the department, and other senior officials, revealed the names of the Puja committees that have won the Sharad Samman across seven categories on Saturday. Twenty-four Puja committees have been placed in the “Serar Sera” category, while 26 have received the ‘Special Prize’.The ‘Durga Angan’ album, featuring 17 songs penned by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and performed by several renowned singers, has been selected as the Best Puja Album.

Earlier, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore predicted that some amount of rain would occur every day till Dashami next Thursday. A strong weather system is likely to develop over the Bay of Bengal on Ashtami/Navami. Crowds were found in the Metro as well. Many took the metro to go to various puja pandals. “Visitors are coming from early morning, and the afternoon seems to be the peak hour now, alongside the usual evening period,” a Metro official stated. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier announced that the Puja Carnival on Red Road will occur on October 5, where the guests from across the country and from abroad would attend.