Braving the discomfort factor, thousands of people stood in queues at Dakshineswar and Kalighat temples to offer puja to celebrate Poila Boishakh, the Bengali New Year Day.

The authorities of both the temples had decided to open the gates to devotees from 5am so that they could offer the puja early. Businessmen bought new accounts books and offered puja to Goddess Kali which is considered to be auspicious.

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Chief minister Mamata Banerjee along with her family members offered special puja at Kalighat temple yesterday, maintaining the age-old tradition of the Banerjee family. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee greeted the people of West Bengal on this auspicious day.

She tweeted: “On the occasion of Poila Boishakh, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all fellow residents. I wish the dawn of New Year brings an abundance of hope, happiness and health in your lives. Today let’s commit to the inclusive welfare and development of society.”

Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: “May this auspicious occasion brings us the strength to overcome divisive forces and build a society rooted in peace, tolerance and inclusivity. May the spirit of Poila Boishakh inspire to rise above differences and come together in solidarity.”

Thanks to the decision of Governor CV Ananda Bose, Raj Bhavan threw its gate open to the general people from today. People will be taken on a heritage walk. Former Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi had taken a similar decision, but the same could not be implemented as the police raised objections due to security reasons.

The visitors will be taken to a guided tour at the palatial building. A cycle rally was taken out from Raj Bhavan where around 200 NCC cadets took part. The rally toured through several roads and ended at Raj Bhavan. The Governor met several intellectuals, including Shamik Swapan Ghosh, a scholar on Rashbehari Bose.

The Governor took lessons in Bengali as usual and read out his message on Poila Boishakh in Bengali. A cultural show was held at Raj Bhavan in the evening. Raj Bhaban opens its gates for commoners For the first time in its history of 220 years, Raj Bhavan on Saturday opened its gates for the common people. Raj Bhavan celebrated Poila Boisakh on Saturday by opening its gates for commoners.

With the initiative, people from now on will be allowed a ‘heritage walk’ inside the complex. The Indian Museum has also come forward to coordinate with Raj Bhavan on this. Around 29 visitors from different states, including Bengal, Tripura, Punjab and Rajasthan got an opportunity for a ‘heritage walk’ which started around 10.30 am on Saturday.

They were felicitated by the Raj Bhavan authorities. Officials of the Raj Bhaban accompanied the visitors to see several historic sites like ‘Curzon Elevator’ (Asia’s first lift installed inside it at the Behest of Lord Curzon in 1863), ‘Chinese cannon’, two lakes, huge library, storing around 11,000 books carrying historic values, different halls and gardens.

Raj Bhaban sources said that nothing has been decided on how many days in a week the commoners will be allowed. Indian Museum authorities are also looking into the matter.

People willing to visit Raj Bhavan should get their names registered through the website of the Indian Museum. Braving the scorching heat many visitors who rushed to Raj Bhavan were allegedly not allowed to enter the premises during the day.