CM pays floral tribute to Lata Mangeshkar; her songs will be played at public spots for 15 days

kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid floral tribute to the portrait of Lata Mangeshkar at Rabindra Sadan on Monday.

The state government will play songs of Lataji at important road intersections for the next 15 days.

The iconic singer, who died on Sunday morning in Mumbai, had sung more than 200 songs in Bengali.

The state government had given half-day holiday on Monday to all its employees as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

A flower-decked portrait of Lataji was kept at Rabindra Sadan. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid her floral tribute in the afternoon.

She came to Rabindra Sadan and spent some time with Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay, minister of state for Information and Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen, minister of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Shashi Panja and Trinamool Congress state president Subrata Bakshi, who also paid floral tributes to the departed soul.

Thousands of admirers of Lataji went to Rabindra Sadan to show their respect to the Nightingale of India. Lataji's connection with Bengal dated back to 1956 and continued for four decades.

In 1956, she had sung 'Akash Pradip Jwale', written by Pabitra Mitra and composed by Satinath Mukhopadhyay.