The five-day long Durga Puja festival in Ranchi came to a close on Thursday with the immersion of Goddess Durga idols on Thursday at various water bodies and ghats in the State Capital. Idol immersion of most of Puja Pandals committee including Chandrashekhar Durga Puja Committee, Durga Mandir trusts Mahavir Chowk and others were done on Thursday.
Puja Committee members dancing on the tunes of devotional songs participated in idol immersion. The committee members also smeared gulals and colours on each other praying Goddess to bestow heath, wealth and prosperity.
Organisers of most household and community pujas were seen leading colourful processions to the ghats amid the beating of drums and chanting of mantras.
The City Police had made elaborate security arrangements during idol immersion. Adequate security arrangements were made on the thoroughfares and at the ghats for peaceful observance of the idol-immersion ceremony. Volunteers of various peace committees actively participated in the idol immersion.
However, immersion of idols will be done on Friday as many Puja Committee being Thursday avoided immersing the idols.
Earlier, on Wednesday being Vijaydashmi women participated in the traditional 'Sindur Khela' (smearing vermilion on each other's faces) and offered sweets and prayers to the goddess before bidding her farewell for the year.
On Vijayadashmi, Chief Minister Hemant Soren also participated in the Ravan Dahan program organized by Punjabi-Hindu Biradari Dussehra Committee at Morhabadi Maidan and Shri Durga Puja and Ravan Dahan Committee Argora at Argora Manda Maidan. Effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad were burnt giving the message of victory of truth over untruth and justice over injustice.
While wishing the people on Vijayadashami, the Chief Minister said that after two years, this time a grand celebration of Dussehra has been organized in public. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic for the last 2 years, the organization of all the festivals including Dussehra was affected. But, the way we conquered Corona with everyone's cooperation, today we are celebrating Dussehra, the festival of victory of good over evil, with full enthusiasm and gaiety and sharing the happiness of this festival together.
In the Ravan Dahan programme organized at Morhabadi ground, where cultural programs have been presented by the artists, everyone saw the spectacular fireworks display. On this occasion, MP Sanjay Seth, Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji, MLA CP Singh, Mayor Asha Lakra, Deputy Mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya and Punjabi- Hindu Biradari Dussehra Committee President Rajesh Khanna, Vice President Kunal Ajmani, Secretary. Sudhir Ugal, members of the organizing committee R Anand, Rajesh Mehra and Mukul Taneja and other office bearers were present.