Kolkata: The four-day-long Durga Puja festivities in Bengal came to an end on Tuesday, with revellers queuing up near river banks and lakes for idol immersion as they bid adieu to the goddess.
Dressed in traditional outfits, devotees scrambled to touch the feet of Maa Durga as chants of ‘Asche Bochor Abar hobe’ (till next year) rent the air.
Women offered sweets and prayers to the goddess, while the young danced merrily to the rhythmic beats of dhak. People were seen exchanging greetings and hugging each other.
Since afternoon, colourful processions, accompanied by drum beats, dotted the streets of Kolkata.
Amid tight security cover, puja organisers were seen flocking the Ganges ghats in the city, which has been decked up for the occasion.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Bangladesh on the other side of Ichamati river.
According to the Kolkata Police sources, adequate arrangements have been made for safe and peaceful celebrations on the occasion of Vijayadashami, including the installation of CCTVs at all the ghats.
Besides the police, personnel from state civil defence, civic bodies and Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) have also been deployed to monitor the situation.
More than 1,000 Durga idols are likely to be immersed at various ghats of the Ganges, the sources added.
Heavy cranes fixed atop boats were seen in action at some of the ghats to help lift and extricate the remains of idols from the river to avoid pollution.
Like every year, nearly 100 big-ticket community pujas would participate in a colourful immersion procession in the city at Red Road, on October 11.
