SHILLONG/TURA: The four-day long, biggest religious festival of the Hindus came to an end on Tuesday in Meghalaya with the immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga in river Wahumkhrah, Shillong and in other rivers in different parts of the state during the auspicious day of Maha Dashami.
Central Puja Committee (CPC) president, Naba Bhattacharjee said that the festival was celebrated peacefully and there was maximum compliance to the idea of plastic-free celebrations.
As many as 242 community Durga Puja were organised in the state which included 118 in Khasi Hills districts, 14 in Jaiñtia Hills and 110 in Garo Hills.
Women and children were seen hopping pandals with attires bought for the occasion in the city as it witnessed huge crowd.
Spells of rain failed to dampen the spirit of puja revelers as people of all ages and sizes were seen enjoying with their friends and families.
Several cultural programmes were also organised by the respective Durga puja Committees besides the District Administration had also made elaborative security arrangements.
Thousands of devotees joined the colourful processions as the idols were carried to River Wahumkhrah for immersion.
Garo Hills fervour
Meanwhile, the four-day gala event which began on Saturday drew large crowds to the different puja pandals that were elaborately decorated in Garo Hills.
The largest crowd of revellers was cleary on Tuesday during the immersion procession with several thousand people marching alongside the 25 lorries carrying the idols of goddess Durga from the different pandals of Tura.
As the procession, which stretched over 2 km, snaked its way through Tura bazaar, Hawakahana, AOC, Members Hostel road towards the immersion ghat at Babupara, the weather gods opened up bringing down heavy rains. It failed to deter the revellers who, led by the oldest puja mandap of the Nepali Durga Puja, continued with the procession.
Showcasing women power, the ladies from the Dermile Durga puja committee walked all through the procession route dressed up as the goddess Durga carrying spears while another group of women representing the Dalupara puja committee from Dobasipara carried diyas that were lit to represent light conquering over darkness.
Immersion of the idols also took place at several other places in Garo Hills, including Williamnagar, Mahendraganj, Baghmara, Tikrikilla, Phulbari, Ampati, Purakhasia, Dalu, among others.
