The biggest religious festival of the Hindu community came to an end on Tuesday with the immersion of the idols of the Goddess Durga in rivers and water bodies across the country on Bijoya Dashami. Hundreds of thousands of followers thronged to the temples across the country before immersing Maa Durga this year.
The last day of Navratri is also celebrated as Bijoya Dashami is celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Ashwin, which according to the Gregorian calendar falls either in the month of September or October. The annual five-day “Sharodiya Durgotsab” began with the incarnation (Bodhon) of Goddess Durga on the day of Maha Sashthi on Friday.
Maha Saptami puja was performed on Saturday, Maha Ashtami on Sunday, Maha Navami on Monday. Hindu devotees across the country sang and danced to ‘kirton’ before removing the idols of Durga and other Gods and Goddesses from the altar of all mandops (makeshift pavilions) for immersion.
Thousands of devotees joined the colourful processions, as the idols was carried to nearby water bodies. In Dhaka, the largest crowds of devotees were seen at Dhakeshwari National Temple, Ramkrishna Mission and Math, Kalabagan, Banani, Shakhari Bazar and Dhaka University Jagannath Hall puja mandaps.
Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad (BPUP) General Secretary Nirmal Kumar Chattarjee in a press conference earlier had said 31,398 permanent and temporary puja mandaps were set up across the country this year. The number of puja mandaps increased by 483 this year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Ramkrishna Mission and the puja mandap of the Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka on Monday.
