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Rain fails to dampen festive spirit in Prayagraj; thousands turn up for idol immersion
Around 614 idols were immersed till Wednesday night. Many puja committees immersed the idols on Thursday too.
Adverse weather conditions on Wednesday failed to dampen the spirit of people in Prayagraj who participated with great enthusiasm on the last day of the Dussehra celebrations.
The organisers as well as the spectators faced a lot of inconvenience during the idol immersion and taking out tableaux due to heavy rain, strong winds and lightening, but it failed to deter them from enjoying the festivities.
Overcast conditions and intermittent rain lashed the entire city since morning and continued till night. As such, the major barwaris in the city had set up waterproof pandals this time as they were already well aware of the warning of the weather experts.
Still, people did face problems in commuting from their homes and the limited space at the pandals did cause problems. Because of the rain, the puja committee of different barwaris waited till the rains stopped and took out the idols for immersion late in the evening.
Like the practice of the previous years, the district administration had made elaborative arrangements for immersion at the pond at Andawa, Jhusi.
All through the evening, idols kept arriving for immersion at the site. Around 614 idols were immersed till Wednesday night. Many puja committees immersed the idols on Thursday too.
Amidst the chanting of slogans of ‘Jai Durga mai ki jai’ and applying gulal on each other, idols of goddess Durga were immersed by different barwaris and durga puja samitis.
All roads leading to the pond in Anwada were choked with processions as hundreds of trucks reached the site along with the devotees.
From wacky themes to the traditional ones, city’s Durga Puja idols this year were designed with pearls, pulses, leaves while the idols of the mother goddess ranged from the conventional clay ones to even those decorated with other items. Young boys and girls along with seniors of the family were seen dancing to the hit numbers.
Thousands of idols were also immersed in hundreds of ponds in the rural areas of the district.
The event passed off peacefully under the watchful eyes of the district administration.
“We had made separate entry and exit points for the devotees and traffic flow was kept under control. The temporary ghats and stairs made with sand bags helped the devotees,” said ADM city Madan Kumar.
Equally enthusiastic were the locals of chowk who came out in large numbers to witness the tableaux and burning of Ravana at Kakraha ghat and Alopibagh.
“Because of rains, we had kept the effigy of Ravan under cover and installed it only in the night because of which the event went well,” said treasurer of Pajawa Ramlila committee, Sachin Gupta.
Likewise, the road from Mutthiganj to Nakhas Kohna was beautifully decorated with electric lights. Organisers and the electricity department kept a close vigil on the wiring and other arrangements to prevent any untoward incident.
