Peaceful Durga Puja ends with pomp & gaiety

Shillong, October14: Much to the relieve of the state government and the district administrations, the four days Durga Puja ended in a peaceful note with the immersion of the idols on Monday. Despite initial apprehension, the puja celebration was celebrated with pomp and gaiety in Shillong and other parts of Meghalaya.

The idols of Goddess Durga were immersed at river Wahumkhrah and some other places.

Since early morning, idols were brought to river Wahumkhrah from different puja mandaps of Shillong as hundreds of devotees lined up to pay their final adieu to the Goddess after four days of joyous celebration amidst chanting of religious slogans and prayers.

The concluding day of the festival is called Bijoy Dashami

Central Puja Committee (CPC) general secretary Naba Bhattacharjee said that the effigy of  Ravan will not be burnt  since it has been stopped  from last  year. He also informed that the CPC will organise a cleaning drive in Wahumkhrah and other rivers to make it free from any kind of pollution.

Elaborate security arrangements were also made by the district police to ensure peaceful proceedings of the immersion procession as police personnel were seen manning the entire Polo area .

East Khasi hills district magistrate Sanjay Goyal  said the district administration had put the conclusion of the immersion process latest by 4 pm.

Goyal also said out of the sixty puja mandaps, most of the puja mandaps immersed the Goddess in river Wahumkhrah while some puja mandaps will immerse the idols in some other areas.

To regulate the traffic, traffic personnel were posted in and along the Polo areas. – By Our Reporter