Chhath Puja’s first evening on Monday was as vibrant and noisy as Diwali, particularly around the ghats and temporary tanks set up for the occasion.

Devotees thronged the banks of the Hooghly, creating a colourful spectacle of devotion and festivity.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited two ghats — Taktaghat and Doighat — on Monday afternoon. She urged devotees to enter the river in batches to ensure safety and smooth conduct of rituals. At Doighat, Mamata offered prayers before an idol of the Sun god.

“Chhath Puja is not easy. People fast for 36 hours. I urge everyone to celebrate peacefully and with caution. Please manage the holding areas near the ghats so that each batch goes into the river only after the previous one has come out,” the chief minister said. She first visited Taktaghat before walking to neighbouring Doighat.

Tangra resident Panna Lal Shaw came to Babughat in a group of 40, including family, friends, and neighbours. “We will offer prayers this evening and again on Tuesday morning,” he said. “Some of us may leave the Puja ingredients here in someone’s custody. It will be easier, as we won’t have to carry them back home and bring them again.”

Nearly 140 ghats, both permanent and makeshift, were prepared across the city for Chhath Puja. Howrah has 51 ghats, and New Town has one designated ghat.

Roads around many ghats along the Hooghly were barricaded by the police. Devotees had to walk the remaining distance.

According to a Calcutta High Court order, only green crackers can be burst during a limited period of two hours on Tuesday morning.

An official from the state pollution control board said: “In Bengal, only green crackers can be sold, and their bursting is allowed from 6am to 8am during Chhath Puja.”

Despite the directive, loud firecrackers were heard across the city through Monday evening, lighting up the sky. Metro spotted violations of the court along roads such as the one from Baje Kadamtala to Judges Ghat, Panditiya Road, Kalighat Road, and near the circular railway tracks, where shells and chocolate bombs were set off.

“DJ music” — loud music played from multiple sound boxes — which is also prohibited, was also rampant in the Chhath Puja celebrations in many places. Hazra Road and Asutosh Mukherjee Road had large amplifiers stacked atop each other, blaring music.

Devotees will return to the ghats at sunrise on Tuesday for the rituals.

Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar, two of the city’s major green spaces, were shut from Sunday morning until Tuesday evening to prevent Chhath rituals in the water bodies there. No ceremonies have been held at the sarobars since 2019, following incidents in 2018 when thousands of worshippers broke open gates to perform rituals.