Diwali, Kali Puja celebrated in Bengal

Kali Puja and Diwali were celebrated with gaiety and fervour in West Bengal on Sunday, with colourful lights and decorated pandals creating a festive spirit across the state.

People from all strata of life joined the festivities in colourful clothes and exchanged greetings and sweets as both the festivals were being celebrated together, making the entire occasion a gala event.

Fireworks lit up the sky as the evening wore on while streets are adorned with colourful lights and houses are decked up with 'diyas' (earthen lamps).

People visited the famous Kali temples across the state from the morning to pay obeisance to the deity.

A countless number of devotees stood in long queues at Tarapith, Kalyaneswari, Dakshineswar, Kalighat and Kankalitala Kali temples in the state to seek blessings of the goddess.

Many community pujas at Barasat and Naihati in North 24 Parganas district were major attractions for the people.

Apart from community pandals, Kali Puja is also performed in houses.

Ululations (high pitched vocal sounds) and peals of bells resonated across temples and residences where the puja is being observed.

Kali Puja is organised at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence at Kalighat in the city and many people including dignitaries visit her house on the occasion.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar along with his wife visited her residence on the occasion.

With a ban on firecrackers above 90-decibel limit in place in West Bengal, police and state pollution control board officials were on alert to prevent flouting of the rule.

Around 5,000 policemen have been deployed across Kolkata to keep a vigil during the Kali Puja and Diwali celebrations, a senior police officer said.