The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The five-day Durga Puja festival ended yesterday with ceremonial immersion of the idols of goddess Durga marking the 'Bisarjan' (Bijoya Dashami).

Durga is considered as a symbol of truth prevailing over the forces of evil and injustice. According to the Hindu religion, Bijoya Dashami is the special ceremony to reaffirm peace and good relations among people of the world.

President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina greeted the Hindu community to mark the occasion.

The last day rituals of the festival were marked, especially by exchange of Bijoya greetings among all devotees also those of other religious faiths.Braving inclement weather, thousands of devout Hindus joined colourful marches on the Dhaka's streets and elsewhere of the country as the idols were being carried to nearby rivers, ponds, canals and other water bodies for immersion after performance of Bijoya Dashami, the last and largely attended rite to bid farewell to Devi Durga.

Before removing the idols of Durga and other gods and goddess from the altars for immersion, the Hindu devotees danced and sang 'kirton' expressing their deep emotional pathos as 'Durga Maa' would soon leave her sons and daughters to reappear after another year.

President Iajuddin Ahmed and his wife Professor Dr Anwara Begum hosted a reception for the Hindu community leaders at Bangabhaban on the occasion of Durga Puja.

The President expressed his satisfaction over the celebrations of Eid and Durga Puja festivals in quick succession and in a very peaceful and cordial manner. Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Fisheries and Livestock Manik Lal Samaddar, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Sri Lankan High Commissioner V Krishnamoorthy and Nepalese Ambassador Pradeep Khatiwada were also present on the occasion.

This year, Durga Puja was celebrated at 22,000 mandaps, about 1,000 more than the last year, across the country. In the capital city, the puja was held at 165 mandaps, including Dhakeshwari Mandir, Ramna Kali Mandir and the newly established Gulshan Mandir.

The main rituals of the five-day celebration included formal opening of the puja called 'Shahsthi Puja', Arati every day, Kumari Puja at Ramkrishna Mission, Sandhya Puja, offering Anjali, distribution of 'mahaprasad' and Bijoya Dashami on the last day of the festival.

The city's main puja procession with the image of Durga began from Dhakeswari Temple at 5.40 pm and reached Waizeghat on the bank of the Buriganga at 6.50 pm.

A huge number of Hindu devotees on about 100 trucks joined the procession led by leaders of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad and Mohanagar Puja Committee including Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta, Dr Neem Chandra Bhowmik, Swapan Kumar Saha, Kajal Devnath, Sattyendra Chandra Bhakta, Tapash Paul, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Bina Saha and Naba Saha.

Different socio-cultural organizations of the Hindu community as well as temple management committees arranged blood donation programmes and distributed clothes among the poor on the occasion.The authorities enforced the tightest possible security around the 22,000 Puja mandaps or makeshift venues decorated with flowers and multi-coloured lights for smooth celebration of the Hindu community's greatest religious festival.

Elite anticrime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) troops joined with armed police, including antiriot units, bomb squads and plainclothesmen and ansars, to guard Hindu temples and puja mandaps where devotees and visitors had to make their way through security devices and sharp vigilance.

The Home Ministry also directed law-enforcers to coordinate with local puja committees for celebration of the festival in peace and tranquility.

Leaders of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and Mohanagar Puja Committee expressed their satisfaction over the smooth ending of the festival.

They thanked all, including Muslims as well as politicians and leaders of different professional groups, for visiting the mandaps to encourage the celebration of the festival.

"We particularly thank members of the law-enforcement agencies for their sincere help in staging Durga Puja." Leaders of Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote led by its General Secretary eminent actress Advocate Tarana Halim visited Ramana Kali Mandir on the occasion of Bijoya Dashami yesterday.