In Guwahati Durga Puja passes off peacefully

GUWAHATI, Sept 29 – The five-day Durga Puja festival came to an end all over the State on Monday with the immersion of the idols of the Goddess and her entourage in the rivers and water bodies. In the city, idols of the Goddess were immersed in the Brahmaputra by the devotees with strict observance of the rituals. There were around 450 family and community puja pandals in the city this time.

For the purpose of immersion, two main points along the river at Kachari Ghat and Pandu Ghat were earmarked by the city police. No report of any immersion-related untoward incident from any part of the city has been received.

A traffic police official, when contacted, informed that traffic movement was regulated in a smooth manner during the puja days.

Additional SP (City) Debojit Deori, while confirming that no untoward incident was reported, told The Assam Tribune that the police would continue to keep vigil in and around the city for the next few days.

Meanwhile, residents of various areas including East Guwahati complained of poor supply of electricity during the puja days, especially in the evening hours.

Our Staff Correspondent from Dibrugarh adds: The Durga puja revelry in and around the district headquarters here, was serene and undisturbed. The district administration particularly the police department has earned praise for being instrumental in making the mass puja celebration a grand success and hassle free.

Puja management committees here said the police department; traffic police inclusive, played laudable role in controlling crowd, controlling movements of vehicles and by keeping a strict vigil on antisocial elements. Police also used CCTV’s at certain locations, as part of their surveillance exercise during all the puja revelry days. People who moved around untill pre dawn hours during the puja were also free from the fear of any possible terror strikes.

The city as a whole was free from law and order problem due to the effectiveness of the police department, Sanjit Roy, president of the puja committee at National Boy’s Club in P N Road stated. He said that the organisers had little to do at every puja mandaps this year as they were well helped by the police.

The immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga and her family, which began yesterday afternoon, went on upto around 8:30 pm. The deities mainly from the city and its adjoining areas got immersed at the Brahmaputra here. ASSAM TRIBUNE