Durga idols from different parts of the city being brought to Shaheed Nagar before the beginning of the immersion procession in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: After over a week of grand festivities and religious fervour, it was time to bid farewell to goddess Durga in the capital on Friday. Processions accompanied by music and colourful lights made the event of immersion of idols, locally known as ‘bhasani’, a memorable affair.

The idols, which portray goddess Durga’s victory over the evil Mahisasura, were carried in a procession in front of which the organising members and local residents congregated to cheer and chant slogans of victory for the goddess. Idols of lord Shiva and goddess Parvati, which were worshipped at many pandals, were also carried for immersion. Overall, 156 idols were worshipped in the city and its outskirts during Dussehra.

Three different clusters were formed on the occasion of ‘bhasani’. The procession of Shaheed Nagar Bhasani Samiti included more than a dozen idols of nearby localities, all of which followed the route from Shaheed Nagar to Raj Mahal Square. The Nayapalli cluster included more than 20 idols that were carried together until Ganga Nagar Square and then were diverted to different paths for immersion. The Patia cluster included the idols of Patia and some from Chandrasekharpur. The proceedings were peaceful and residents were happy with the arrangements.

“The security and traffic arrangements made it easy for us to participate in the event. We were easily able to witness the procession of our area,” said Himanshu Mishra, a resident of Kharavela Nagar.

As many as 25 platoons of police were deployed across the city to make the event a smooth affair. Measures for traffic control were also taken to manage the processions that began in the afternoon and continued till late in the evening.

Various localities had also organised felicitation ceremonies. The pandals were judged for the best in idols, decoration and other aspects of the celebration.