Festive fervour: Lakhs throng Puja pandals on Panchami

Kolkata: With hours away from Saptami, the city is soaked in the spirit of Bengal’s biggest festival — Durga Puja — as lakhs throng Puja pandals on Panchami evening, making sure the record footfall on Chaturthi is broken.

The traffic cops were seen all pumped up to manage the rush.

Movement of vehicles was comparatively slow along Rashbehari Avenue, Chetla Central Road, DH Road, BK Pal Avenue and CR Avenue — all transit points for big-ticket Pujas.

Most revellers were more interested in visiting Sreebhumi, Kumartuli-Ahiritola and Bagbazar Sarbojanin amongst others.

The trend was no different in the South. The Jodhpur Park-Selimpur-Babubagan area witnessed a massive rise in footfall, similar to the ones at Naktala Udayan Sangha, Ekdalia Evergreen-Hindusthan Park zone within control.

Some of the traditional powerhouses — Md Ali Park and College Square — witnessed a moderate crowd.

“We increased the crossover loop at Gariahat crossing to Basanti Devi College. This stopped people from crossing over randomly and also ensured they visited the big-budget pandals on both sides of the road. A similar policy was adopted for the Tridhara-Samaj Sebi block,” a senior police officer said.

The Sreebhumi pandal continued to hog the limelight. The overall traffic movement was slow on the stretch but even as the traffic management improved, there was no stopping the sea of revellers whose numbers kept swelling.

Suruchi Sangha, a prominent Durga Puja turned 70 this year. The mandap here encapsulates the essence of Bengal’s rural heritage through a harmonious blend of Bengali folk arts, handicrafts and cottage industries and is set to transport visitors to the lap of rural Bengal.

The mandap’s decor features handicrafts sourced from different regions, including terracotta from Panchmura in Bankura, Dokra idols from Bikna, wooden puppets from New Village in East Burdwan, Chadar Badar from Birbhum and Patachitra from Midnapur.

Naktala Udayan Sabha Puja — with its theme “Hridaypur” — depicts the Partition and the painful stories associated with it.

The theme of the Puja has been named as “Hridaypur”. The visitors will be able to see various representations and depictions of the significant incidents related to partition.

According to an estimate, at least 17,000 foreigners may take part in the festivities this year.