Hindu devotees across Bangladesh bid farewell to Goddess Durga today (21 October), immersing idols in rivers, seas and other water bodies as the five-day Sharadiya Durga Puja festivities drew to a close.
According to Bengali Hindu tradition, Goddess Durga arrives on Earth around Mahalaya to visit her parental home and returns to her husband's abode on Mount Kailash after the immersion of her idol on Bijoya Dashami. Devotees then await her return the following year.
From the banks of the Buriganga River in Old Dhaka to Patenga Sea Beach in Chattogram and Cox's Bazar beach, thousands gathered for the immersion ceremonies, accompanied by dhak drums, ululation, religious chants and colourful processions.
At Cox's Bazar's Laboni Point, more than 150 idols were immersed in the sea, with an estimated 300,000 people gathering for the ceremony. Devotees from Cox's Bazar and neighbouring Bandarban joined local and foreign tourists and people from other religious communities to witness the farewell.
In Chattogram, devotees gathered at Patenga Sea Beach to immerse idols in the waves, while in Old Dhaka, similar rituals took place at Wiseghat on the banks of the Buriganga River.
Earlier in the day, Dashami puja was performed at temples and temporary mandaps across the country, followed by Darpan Bisarjan, a symbolic ritual in which the goddess's reflection is immersed before the formal immersion of her idol.
Married Hindu women, dressed in traditional white sarees with red borders, also participated in Sindur Khela, one of the prominent rituals of Bijoya Dashami. They offered vermilion and sweets to Goddess Durga before smearing vermilion on one another's foreheads and faces, exchanging sweets and praying for marital happiness and prosperity.
Following the rituals, colourful processions made their way through city streets towards nearby water bodies. Idols were transported on decorated trucks and pickup vans, while some were taken by boat to the middle of rivers for immersion.
Devotees chanted "Aschhe bochhor abar hobe" [It will happen again next year], expressing their hope for the goddess's return the following year.
Similar celebrations and immersion ceremonies took place in major divisional cities, including Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barishal, as well as district towns across the country. Law enforcement agencies maintained security at major immersion sites and took measures to ensure smooth traffic movement.
Addressing the gathering at Cox's Bazar beach, State Minister for Land and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Barrister Mir Mohammed Helal Uddin said Durga Puja had been celebrated nationwide without any unpleasant incidents, which he said demonstrated that there was no security crisis in Bangladesh.
Strict security measures were in place at the beach and surrounding areas during the immersion ceremony