Vijoya Dashami celebrated across Assam

Guwahati, Sep 30 (IANS) Lakhs of people thronged different Durga Puja pandals across Assam since Saturday morning, braving rains and inclement weather, to bid adieu to the Mother Goddess and celebrate 'Vijoya Dashami' - the last day of the four-day Durga Puja festival.

Durga Puja, one of the most important festivals of Assam after Bihu, is celebrated in all the districts of the state and thousands of pujas are held as different localities organize their own Durga Puja. Guwahati alone records over 500 Durga pujas.

Men, women and children gathered in puja pandals and took part in the Vijoya Dashami rituals performed by the priests and took blessings. Some married women also took part in a ritual called 'Sindur Khela' (putting vermillion and other colours on each other) before bidding farewell to the Mother Goddess for the year.

The immersion started around 3 p.m. and different puja committees were seen taking out colourful processions with the idol in vehicles and followed by men and women dancing to the beat of dhak (traditional drums) to the immersion ghats. People along the routes were seen standing to catch a glimpse of the idols of Durga.

"We have organized immersion in mainly three ghats of Brahmaputra rivera -- Kasomari ghat, Soonsali ghat and at Khanamukh. However, immersion can also be done at Basistha," Kamrup (Metro) district Deputy Commissioner, M. Angamuthu told IANS on Saturday.

"Instructions have been issued to puja committees to immerse the idols in a disciplined way in ghats," he said, adding that adequate security has been deployed in the ghats.

The DC said the administration has also deployed jawans of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Rescue Force (SDRF) from Khanamukh to Soonsali ghats.

The state excise department has declared Saturday as 'dry day'.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)