Punjab, Haryana lit with Diwali spirit; Mann visits Gurudwara with wife

Diwali, the festival of lights, was celebrated across Punjab and Haryana on Monday with great fervour and enthusiasm.

Devotees queued up at temples and gurudwaras across Punjab and Haryana including Chandigarh to worship their gurus and deities.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with his wife Gurpreet Kaur offered prayers at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali. He also bought some diyas from a roadside vendor.

Cities across the two states were lit with candles, diyas (earthen lamps), and electric lights, as people did rounds of each others' houses and exchanged sweets and gifts.

Everywhere, people thronged the market places for last-minute shopping as shopkeepers selling Diwali items and sweets made a brisk business.

To ward off any bad incident, security was tightened across the two states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, especially in and around vital locations, markets, and places of worship, officials said.

In Amritsar, the Golden Temple, the holy Sikh shrine, gleamed with gold and aesthetically draped electric lights. The temple witnessed a huge rush of devotees that began in the early morning and remained unabated till evening.

'Langar' (community kitchen) arrangements were made for devotees.

'Bandi Chhor Divas', the festival which coincides with Diwali, was also celebrated across Punjab.

The festival marks the historical release of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, along with 52 kings, from a Mughal prison in 1620.

According to the historical record, after his release, Guru Hargobind went straight to the Golden Temple, as people welcomed his release by lighting up the whole city with diyas.

The Punjab government has allowed a window of two hours from 8 pm till 10 pm for bursting firecrackers on Diwali. while the Haryana government has allowed only green crackers in the state.

Chandigarh had allowed use of green crackers on Diwali.