Durga Puja ends in Bengal with idol immersion

Kolkata: Teary eyed devotees bade an emotional farewell as idols of goddess Durga and other Gods were immersed in ponds, lakes and rivers of West Bengal on Vijaya Dashami on Wednesday.

Four days of revelry and celebration ended, with organisers taking out colourful processions accompanied by drums and bands to immerse the idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik with much fanfare.

There was a festive look on the banks of the Ganges and other water bodies, with drums playing the immersion beats.Children, the young and the elderly joined hands to slowly put the idols into the water.

On Wednesday morning, married women prepared the idols for their long journey home by smearing them and each other with red vermilion. They offered sweets to the god and prayed for the well-being of their families.