New Delhi: It was a riot of colours as revellers on Wednesday thronged streets and by-lanes to celebrate Holi with security force personnel along the borders and in Kashmir no less enthusiastic in applying 'gulal' and exchanging sweets. Gusto and bonhomie marked the festival of fun and frolic which passed off peacefully as police kept a hawk-eye vigil on revellers dancing to the accompaniment of drums. With clothes drenched in myriad hues, merrymakers thronged lanes and narrow alleys to celebrate the festival of colours, giving a go-by to old squabbles and distributed traditional sweets. People embraced each other wishing "Happy Holi" as unseen hands squirted them with a well-timed coloured water spray. Water-filled balloons were lobbed from rooftops and balconies as cries of "Holi hai" reverberated the streets as the festival bid adieu to winter to herald spring. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde celebrated Holi with BSF jawans at an outpost near the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district. The minister arrived in the morning and went to Tanot Mata temple, about 150 kms from Jaisalmer, and visited the BSF post. The festival was celebrated by the Hindu community and security forces with traditional fervour and gaiety in Kashmir. Army and paramilitary troopers gathered in camps in the Kashmir Valley and danced to the beats of popular Holi songs from Bollywood and sprinkled colour on each other, far away from their homes. President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed the hope that the festival will strengthen faith in national values and promote oneness and harmony. "On the joyous occasion of Holi, I convey my greetings and good wishes to all my fellow countrymen. This festival which marks the advent of spring, is a harbinger of joy, hope and fulfilment for all," the President said. The Prime Minister said the festival of colours is the celebration of "life and goodness and gives opportunity to strengthen the spirit of brotherhood." Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hoped that the festival of colours would be a harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity in the state. BJP veteran LK Advani met visitors and party leaders at his residence in the national capital on the occasion. In Punjab's Amritsar district, BSF jawans celebrated Holi at the Attari international border. The Durgiana temple in Amritsar was tastefully decorated and people thronged it to celebrate the festival, so was the holy city of Anandpur Sahib. In the national capital, police personnel were deployed across the city. Police had issued warning against hooliganism in the guise of revelry. Commuters faced inconvenience in the morning as a handful of buses plied and Metro service resumed only after 2 PM. .......

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday offered full support to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) if the need arose to stage matches at Kochi for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that begins from April 3.

"The KCA had approached us that a probability could arise wherein Kochi could stage a few matches of the IPL. We have offered our full support, and complete security arrangements would be provided and other support systems also would be in place," said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The KCA office bearers, led by its secretary T.C. Mathew, had on Tuesday approached Chandy after reports that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking that Sri Lankan players and officials be excluded from IPL matches to be staged in Chennai.

Jayalalithaa wrote the letter following increased political tension in the state over the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Mathew said that they are ready to host matches if there are any issues.

"We have already hosted IPL matches (fourth edition) in 2011 and we have no issues in organising it this time," said a confident Mathew.

The sixth edition of IPL has 10 matches in Chennai. Thirteen Sri Lanka players are included in various teams while Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya are members of the local franchisee - Chennai Super Kings.

The KCA is confident they can host the matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kochi, which is the only one in the state of international standard and has already staged eight ODIs (one Day internationals) in the past 14 years. The last was held in January this year when the English team toured the country.

KCA also promised to host IPL matches if another venue, Bangalore, faced any difficulty in conducting matches.

"Assembly elections are going to be held in Karnataka in the first week of May and if they need our help to stage some of their home matches in view of security arrangements, we have told them that we are ready," said Mathew.