Holi celebrated with fun, religious fervour in Delhi

Holi -- India's festival of colours, was on Thursday celebrated with lots of fun and religious fervour in the national capital. Till afternoon, no complaint of any untoward incident was received by Delhi Police.

People in various parts of the city were seen splashing colour on each other and distributing sweets to celebrate Holi, the festival that leads to spring.

People were seen dancing to the beats of drums and smearing each others' faces with 'abir' and 'gulal', as colours traditionally used in Holi are known.

Authorities said no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the national capital. Over 2,500 paramilitary commandos along with 400 teams of Delhi Police have been deployed in the wake of intelligence inputs of a terror threat.

"No such case was reported till the afternoon," Special Commissioner of Police Muktesh Chander told IANS.

However, the Delhi Fire Services received over 12 complaints of minor fire from various parts of the national capital.

A senior fire service officer told IANS: "There is nothing to worry about it as they were all too minor to cause any damage and we are also monitoring situtions."

Barricades had been set up at many places in the capital to check trouble as more than 2,500 traffic policemen were on duty to keep a close watch on those flouting road safety norms and creating problems, particularly for women.

Till Wednesday night, Delhi Police has registered drunken driving against 558 people, with the highest from south Delhi.

The festival of Holi is associated with revelry and boisterous fun.

Police on Wednesday urged people to celebrate the festival with sensitivity towards others.

As neighbourhoods erupted into celebrations, children did what they like to do best on Holi -- played pranks by spraying coloured water with waterguns and flung water balloons at passersby from rooftops or the balconies of their homes.

Guests were treated with sweets, especially 'gujiya', the traditional pastry with a sweet filling.

The celebrations were louder in crowded urban pockets of Delhi. Revellers threw coloured water - deep purple, red, and black - at anyone they came across.

"I was waiting for this morning since long. It is fun," said Ronit Tomar, a 14-year-old boy, smeared with different hues of colour, from Sangam Apartments in Rohini.

He threw a watercolour-filled balloon at a passerby who was caught unaware. As the man looked around, Tomar shouted "bura na maano Holi hai" (Don't mind, it is Holi).

Many were seen consuming bhang (an edible preparation of cannbis) to add zest to their celebrations. Youngsters rode motorbikes, throwing colours in the air and shouting 'Holi hai!'.