Hindu devotees yesterday bade farewell to Goddess Durga and her children with solemn immersion of their idols, ending the five-day-long festival, the biggest of its kind for the Hindu community in Bangladesh.

Thousands of Hindus in the capital marched with spectacular truck processions carrying idols of Durga towards nearby rivers for immersion.

According to Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP), about 200 idols from different puja mandaps of the capital were immersed in rivers.

A procession was brought out from Dhakeswari Mandir around 2:50pm and over 100 trucks full of devotees reached Wais Ghat where the idols were immersed in the Buriganga, said Nirmal Kumar Chatterjee, joint secretary of BPUP.

Idols from the mandaps in Kalabagan, Banani and Gulshan were immersed in the Turag river, he added.

Nirmal said about 25-30 idols of goddess Durga will be kept at permanent temples such as Dhakeswari to be replaced by new ones during next year’s puja.

Our correspondents from Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong report that devotees thronged different beaches and rivers to see the immersion of Durga.

In Chittagong, devotees packed into the Patenga Sea Beach, the main immersion spot of the port city. More than 150 idols were immersed in the waters there, said Ratnakar Das, general secretary of Puja Udjapan Parishad in Chittagong.

In Cox’s Bazar, devotees went to the beach on motorcades as well as in colourful processions around 2:00pm. Tourists joined them during the immersion. 

More than 29,000 mandaps have been set up across the country, including 225 in Dhaka alone, on the occasion this year, BPUP sources said.

Cities, urban centres and even remote villages wore festive looks with the puja mandaps lit brightly and decorated lavishly.

The origin of Durga Puja can be traced back to the 15th century. With the ascent of Mughals, Durga Puja became more popular. Grand celebrations, gala feasts and huge fanfare were part of the festival.

According to Hindu mythology, goddess Durga appeared in the midst of common people following the prayers of king Kangsha. Marking the occasion, the first Durga worship was arranged at Taherpur in Rajshahi in the Bangla month of Aswin in 1480 by Kangsha Narayan.

Source: The Daily Star