Agartala/Guwahati, (Samajweekly) The Durga Puja festival, which is celebrated with fervour in the northeastern states, especially in Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya, came to an end on Wednesday with the immersion of idols on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami.
The devotees, comprising men, women and children, bid adieu to Goddess Durga and her children with a heavy heart as the five-day festival came to an end on Wednesday.
Before the immersion of idols in Brahmaputra and other major rivers in Assam, colourful immersion processions went around different cities. A sea of devotees lined up on both sides of the roads to catch a last glimpse of the idols, while thousands assembled on the immersion ghats.
The police, disaster management authorities and officials of the urban local bodies made all the arrangements for the immersions to avoid any mishap.
Though most of the idols were immersed on Wednesday in Assam, Tripura and other northeastern states, some idols are likely to be immersed in the next two days.
Traditional themes, prevailing issues and events dominated the puja pandals in the entire northeastern region with historical events forming part of the themes for decorations.
As part of ‘Sindoor Khela’, married women applied sindoor on the goddess and offered sweets to her followed by applying sindoor on each other’s faces.
Accompanied by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma witnessed the immersion of Durga idols at the Pandu Ghat in Guwahati.
Later, Sarma tweeted: “On the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dashami, visited Pandu Ghat, Guwahati, and witnessed Maa Durga’s ‘visarjan’ in the Brahmaputra along with my wife Riniki B. Sharma. As puja festivities come to an end, my prayers to Maa Durga to bless us all with joy, peace & prosperity.”
In Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, whose family has been organising Durga Puja for many years, led the immersion processions at the Dashami ghat on the outskirts of the capital city.
