Kolkata: Hundreds of pandal-hoppers hit the streets in Chandannagar and its adjacent areas in Hooghly on Maha Nabami night to visit the Jagadhatri Puja pandals.
People from different parts of the state had been visiting Chandernagore for the past four days to watch the lighting spectacle that has always been the major attraction of the place. But maximum crowds turned up to visit the Puja mandaps on Sunday as it was the last day before immersion. The police made an elaborate arrangements to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the festival.
Essentially, the crowd is the largest near Mankundu and Chandernagore railway stations. Plying of vehicles since evening remain suspended on a particular stretch from Baidyabati to Chandernagore as pandal hoppers walk on the road during pandal visits. People from South 24-Parganas avail ferry services to reach Chandernagore that remained available round-the-clock on all the four days. Train services also remained available till early in the morning. People mainly throng the puja mandaps of Burrabazar, Baghbazar, etc in Chandernagore. In Baidyabati, thousands of devotees went to the temple of Goddess Jagadhatri at Tentultala to offer prayers.
Immersion process of Chandernagore is also famous. Thousands of people gather at both sides of GT Road to watch the special lightings mounted on huge trucks passing one after the other. It is learnt that this year around 74 Puja organisers will be taking part in the procession that will start at around 5 pm on Monday and continue till early morning on Tuesday when the idols will be immersed. Jagadhatri Puja is also organised in Krishnagar where people also visit several Puja mandaps. Similarly, the Puja is organised in other parts of the state as well including at Ramakrishna Mission Saradapith in Belur.