Members of different Durga Puja committees assemble at Collectorate Ghat in Patna to immerse the idols on Friday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Oct. 7: Except on Ashtami, the rain god was kind to devotees this Durga Puja. But the district administration and the civic body were not. Slush at Collectorate Ghat, right behind the district magistrate’s office, disappointed disciples during immersion.

The devotees had a harrowing experience today while carrying idols to boat for immersion through the unkempt ghat. Several of them slipped on slush. Three idols tipped over on the muddy path leading to the Ganga.

A devotee, Rohit Kumar Singh, said: “Every year, the administration and the civic body promise to provide neat and clean ghats. But see what arrangements they have made on the day of immersion. The mud has made the immersion process difficult. Our feet are getting stuck in the slush. Carrying heavy idols through such a pathway is an uphill task.”

Ram Balak Baba, the priest of a temple at Collectorate Ghat, slammed both the district administration and the municipal corporation for the poor maintenance of the Collectorate Ghat. “Nobody cleaned the ghat in the past one week. The administration and the corporation officials would not remove the toxic remnants of the immersed idols either.”

The district administration denied the allegation of not making proper arrangements for the immersion, though. Mohammad Rehman, the in-charge of Collectorate Ghat, told The Telegraph: “We have made the proper arrangements for the immersion of the idols. Around 50 sacks of sand were strewn on the mud. But the devotees had to wade through slush because the water of the Ganga receded. Till last night, the river water was touching the stairs of the ghat. But today it receded. We have ordered 300 more sacks of sand to ensure devotees do not face any problem.”

Rehman added: “We have kept two motor boats ready for rescue operations. A diver is on board in each boat. We have also given directions to the devotees to immerse the idols deep in the river so that the toxic waste does not float along its banks.”

The reality was different, though. The steps of the ghat were littered with ornaments of idols, plastic bags and rotten fruits. Additional municipal commissioner of Patna Municipal Corporation Chandrama Singh said: I do not have any idea about the present condition of the Collectorate Ghat but we have made proper arrangements at Bhadra Ghat.”

Besides the Collectorate Ghat and Bhadra Ghat, idols are immersed at Anta Ghat and Gai Ghat.