Our Bureau
SHILLONG/TURA: The four-day Durga Puja celebrations in the state concluded on Friday with the immersion of the idols.
As devotees bid adieu to the goddess with the promise of another majestic welcome next year, skirmishes and one arrest marred Dashami in Shillong.
Tura, another town in the state where the grandeur of the festival can be witnessed, was peaceful.
A puja reveller was arrested on Friday for assaulting a cop who was deployed in the city for the immersion.
The arrested man, identified as Sunny Ghosh, had other companions who were involved in the assault and police are looking for them.
East Khasi Hills SP Davis Marak said the incident happened on Friday near the office of Shillong Municipal Board when the revellers were going towards the immersion ghat.
The 31-year-old police official, Flint Anderson Lapang, was regulating traffic and had asked the revellers to maintain order.
But a group of drunken men jumped out of a vehicle and started assaulting the cop, the SP said.
Ghosh was the main accused. Police have also registered a case.
Lapang is from Mawlai Nongpdeng.
Besides, a tense Nartiang in West Jaintia Hills celebrated Durga Puja at the ancient temple amid tight security.
The puja was conducted by priest Oni Maskut Deshmukh, who had the majority support of the devotees, while those who supported another priest Swappon Bhattacharjee were not present.
In Tura, the immersion procession started from Tura Bazar and rolled through the thoroughfares led by the century-old Nepali Durga Puja mandap.
This year, there were 75 pandals in West Garo Hills. Tura town alone had a total of 24 pandals.
The Fancy Valley puja mandap that celebrated silver jubilee this year presented a vibrant display of colours.
The women in traditional sarees walked with the men singing religious hymns.
The Mahendra Colony Durga Puja mandap procession was all about women power as its all-female participants led the immersion parade.
The Dermile mandap, renowned for holding colourful dramas, once again did not fail to impress.
Artists dressed as Goddess Durga and Asura presented a street play during the immersion parade.
As part of the week-long celebrations, the Central Puja Committee (CPC) also reached out to the weaker sections of society, distributing clothes to the poor.
Swachh Bharat was a key mantra of this year’s celebrations with all puja committees encouraged to ensure cleanliness and plastic-free zones of their areas.
To discourage plastic pollution, the CPC set up drinking water points all along the procession route for hundreds of participants who took part in the final rituals.
The post puja festivities will include a dhak competition cum cultural programme to be held on Sunday at the Tura Police Parade Ground, where artists from popular TV show, ‘Saregamapa’ from Kolkata will enthrall the audience with their renditions.