Thousands of devotees offered Chhath puja at the Rabindra Sarobar, a 73 acre lake in south Kolkata, on Tuesday despite a ban on celebrating it there by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to stop pollution. Loud music were played, fire crackers were burst and flowers and fruits were offered in the water flouting the ban, but the police took no action, environmentalists claimed and said they would file a contempt of court petition.

The police, however, said the revellers did not enter the lake premises in processions as vehicles, band parties and DJ music players were stopped at the gate of the lake. In an order on November 3 last year, the NGT East Zone had allowed Chhath Puja for that year only. Rabindra Sarobar which is part of the National Lake Conservation Plan of the Government of India, the NGT had banned the rituals to prevent pollution of the lake and the surrounding manicured gardens and sprawling grounds.