Emotional devotees paid a teary-eyed farewell, as idols of goddess Durga and her children were immersed in rivers, lakes, ponds and other waterbodies across Tripura marking the end of eastern india”s biggest socio-religious carnival on monday. In Agartala, Dashami Ghat and Howra Ghat wore a tight security look due to covid19 pandemic as people from all walks of life joined in the immersion processions, to the accompaniment of ”dhak” (drums). A huge security cordon was thrown around Dashami Ghat in Agartal, where there was a steady stream of community puja immersions from the monday afternoon. Earlierin the day, the married women, decked up in ritualistic red-and-white sarees, participated in the customary ”sindoor khela” (smearing each other with red vermillion) as they prepared Goddess Durga and her four children — Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik – for their return to their heavenly abode in Mount Kailash. The immersion ceremony symbolises the end of the Goddess”s annual sojourn to her paternal home and she returns to her husband Lord Shiva in Mount Kailash. Other than maintaining law and order during immersion, the teams of river police and disaster management groups patrolled the river. CCTVs were installed at Dashami ghats, a senior police officer said. Due to covid19 pandemic this year government imposes SOP for idol immersion where maximum 20 persons are allowed in the carnival. There were long queues outside sweet shops as people started visiting relatives and friends from morning.
