Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Oct. 24: Over two lakh people lined up on both sides of the streets this evening to bid adieu to Goddess Durga and watch the colourful tableaux that formed part of the immersion ceremony in the twin cities.

The tableaux made up by the puja committees featured current themes, with two of them based on the alleged shenanigans of self-styled spiritual leader Sarathi baba alias Santosh Raula with one baba lookalike pretending to perform tricks such as producing honey from his foot.

This time, the idols were immersed in temporary immersion ponds, which had been dug up in keeping with the Odisha State Pollution Control Board directives to ensure minimum possible pollution of water bodies. While three temporary ponds were dug up for the immersion of nearly 158 idols in Cuttack, four such ponds were made near the Daya and Kuakhai rivers in Bhubaneswar for the immersion of over 120 idols.

Noise pollution was significantly low as most committees used traditional musical instruments, including dhols, conch shells and cymbals, during the immersion processions. Cultural troupes from Sambalpur and other west Odisha districts performed during the ceremony.

Official sources said the 60-decibel sound limit set by the authorities and the seizure of loudspeakers during Ganesh Puja forced the committees to opt for traditional instruments. "For the past three years, we have been promoting traditional instruments and indigenous cultural groups to perform during the immersion ceremony. We are happy that a lot of other puja committees are also taking environment-friendly initiatives," said Prafulla Sahoo, secretary of Khannagar puja committee in Cuttack.

However, unruly scenes were witnessed at a few places. Some goons allegedly threw water bottles at tourism and culture minister Ashok Panda at a function to felicitate the puja committees at Old Town.

Police resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd. Sources said the incident was the handiwork of his political opponents.

Panda, who is the sitting MLA from Ekamra, denied that he had faced any resistance from the crowd. "Some drunkards suddenly sneaked near the stage and tried to indulge in unruly behaviour. The volunteers, however, whisked them away," he said.

When reports last came in, over 70 idols had been immersed.

As many as 35 platoons of police were deployed in Bhubaneswar. Security was equally tight in Cuttack. "Around 60 platoons of police were deployed in Cuttack for the immersion ceremony," said Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora. Special closed-circuit television cameras were installed along the immersion routes in the twin cities to keep tabs on mischief mongers. All liquor shops remained closed in both the cities.