The city celebrated the first day of Chhath Puja on Thursday largely abiding by the norms.

The rituals were performed at sunset on Thursday and will again be performed at sunrise on Friday.

Bursting of crackers was not allowed on Thursday. The state pollution control board (PCB) allowed a two-hour window for crackers on Friday — 6am to 8am — when only green fireworks can be lit.

However, there were some reports of bursting of crackers on Thursday.

Thousands of devotees visited ghats and water bodies across the city, taking a dip in the water and praying to the sun god.

Women and men wore new clothes. The younger ones in the family were seen taking group pictures and helping elders perform the rituals. A celebratory mood filled the air at the ghats.

The Telegraph visited some of the ghats in the city and found crackers going off on Thursday evening.

Crackers were burst on the road outside Northern Park in Bhowanipore, where the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) built a temporary water tank for the rituals. But inside the park and around the tank, none was seen bursting crackers.

The scene was identical near the water body in Jodhpur Park, which was decked out for the occasion. Crackers were bursting on the roads but not near the water body.

Jahari Ram, a devotee who went to the Jodhpur Park water body at 3pm, said he heard crackers being burst outside the park with the tank. “I was busy preparing for the rituals with my family. I will again come on Friday morning,” he said.

A senior officer of Kolkata Police said a few complaints about firecrackers were lodged. “But Thursday evening was peaceful,” the officer said.

A PCB official said the board received “three or four” complaints from Calcutta and neighbouring areas, including Barrackpore, about the bursting of crackers.

On the road leading to Baja Kadamtala Ghat along the Hooghly, crackers went off once in a while. A small goods vehicle with multiple loudspeakers blaring songs was moving towards the ghat. It parked along the road.

The PCB official said “DJ music” was not allowed in Chhath processions. The
expression “DJ music” refers to the use of multiple loudspeakers.

Some of the ghats along the Hooghly that were prepared for the rituals are Baja Kadamtala Ghat, Nimtala Ghat, Gwalior Ghat, Kumartuli Ghat, Bagbazar Ghat, Sovabazar Ghat, Mayer Ghat, PK Tagore Ghat, Takta Ghat and Bichali Ghat.

Over 150 ghats were prepared with makeshift steps, additional lights and changing rooms, among other facilities. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has set up the facilities at 111 ghats and the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority has readied 40 ghats.