Devotees immersed the idols of Ganesha in rivers and water bodies across the State on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi on Wednesday.
For the first time in public memory, a community worship of Ganapati was organised in Pauri in a manner which set an example of communal harmony. On Wednesday, the shouts of ‘Ganapati Bappa Moriya’ echoed through the streets of Pauri town as locals participated in a procession along with drummers to immerse the iodl of the lord. The local fraternity of jewelers came forward to arrange the Ganesha worship in lower bazaar area of Pauri town, a locality with high concentration of members of the Muslim community.
Known for communal harmony like other towns in the mountainous region of Uttarakhand, Pauri lived up to its fame with members of the Muslim community cooperating with the organisers of the Ganesh Puja. The community worship started in a shop of lower bazaar on September 8 in the morning and evening with devotional songs being rendered in the evening. Hundreds of people attending the prayers everyday and expressed hope that this event will take a more elaborate form in coming years.