Hyderabad, March 19 (IANS) A majority of people in Andhra Pradesh did not celebrate Telugu New Year 'Ugadi' Monday even as the state government held the official celebrations to mark the day.

Confusion prevailed as the government had declared Monday a holiday.

With a section of 'agama pundits', Hindu astrologers and other religious personalities, warning against celebrating the festival Monday, a majority of people decided to celebrate it on Tuesday.

As Monday was 'amavasya' (no moon day) and also coincided with a solar eclipse, many pundits had warned the government that celebrating the festival on the day would spell doom for the state.

However, the government went ahead with the official celebrations claiming that it was following the advice of a majority of pundits. It has, however, declared an optional holiday on Tuesday.

'Panchangna sarvanam' or the traditional official function was held at Ravindra Bharati here. Subrahmanyam Sharma, an agama pundit read out 'panchangam' or religious almanac of the coming year. He predicted that the coming year would witness good rains and bring happiness and prosperity to the people.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, his senior cabinet colleagues, assembly Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy and senior officials were present on the occasion. The chief minister, who greeted people on the occasion, felicitated eminent people from different walks of life.

Some people also celebrated the day Monday. Houses were decked up and special pujas performed. 'Ugadi pachhadi', a mixture of neem buds, jaggery, raw mango and tamarind juice, was prepared on the occasion. The dish symbolises that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, which should be accepted with equanimity.

However, many people did not celebrate Ugadi Monday because of amavasya and solar eclipse. Most of the temples were closed and people took a dip and offered puja on the banks of rivers.

The controversy over Ugadi also took a political turn with the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finding fault with the government's announcement.

TRS has announced it will celebrate Ugadi on Tuesday. It even warned the Congress government that celebrating the festival on Monday would spell doom for it.