Puducherry Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi has greeted the people of the Union Territory on the occasion of 'Pongal' the harvest festival of Tamils.<br />''<br />''In her message, the LG said Pongal, the four-day festival is celebrated at the beginning of the Tamil month 'Thay'. The festival is celebrated to express gratitude to the Sun God, nature and cattle, reflecting our culture and tradition observed by the Tamil  diaspora worldwide.<br />''<b> </b><br />''AIR Correspondent reports, The first day of Pongal is called Bogi, and is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra. As a customary practice, In Puducherry people cleaned the homes and lit a bonfire to get rid of unused items. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Meanwhile, the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee propagated the message of controlling air pollution during Bhogi by asking people not to burn tyres, plastics and rubber. The burning of tyres, plastics and unwanted household articles, let out poisonous gases which cause irritation of eyes, nose, throat, skin, respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and other health disorders. </span><br />