KOLKATA: Devotees across West Bengal on Friday bade teary farewell to goddess Durga on 'Bijoya Dahasmi' as she went back to her abode in Kailash after her five-day-long annual sojourn along with her four children to her maternal home.Following the Dashami rituals, clay idols of Devi Durga and her children were taken from beautifully decorated pandals and households for immersion in rivers and other waterbodies.Women pay their obeisance to the goddess with betel leaves, betel nuts, turmeric and bael leaves, known as 'Debi Baran' and urge her to come back again next year.Similar rituals are witnessed all over West Bengal with idols being taken for immersion to river banks or other large waterbodies.Around 1200 Durga idols of household and community pujas in and around the city were immersed in the Hooghly river amid huge police deployment till 8 pm, a senior police officer said."The immersion programme will continue throughout the night and we are expecting around 200 more idols from the surrounding areas of the city to come here for immersion. We have arranged adequate security measures for the programme," he told PTI.In the metropolis, idols were taken in processions that included bands, colourfully decorated tableaus and people dancing to the beats of dhak, the traditional drum associated with Durga Puja, to the banks of river Hooghly for immersion.Cranes are being used to pull out the idols from the water as Kolkata Police Disaster Management officials and hundreds of volunteers were pressed into service at the immersion site, the IPS officer said."We are not allowing people to get into deep water while immersing the idols. Our men as well as volunteers are present there in the water to help them and keep a check on any mishap," he said.Women police and other officers in civil clothes were also deputed in service to check eve teasing incidents.On the banks of river Icchamati on the Indo-Bangladesh border at Taki in North 24 Parganas district, the idols are brought on boats from both sides of the border and are immersed in the river.The sight of the culturally similar people on both sides of the border together going through the rituals of immersion of the idols with equal fervour is a visual delight and is witnessed by thousands of tourists coming from various places.Meanwhile, the state government has planned a Durga Puja carnival where over 70 big Durga idols in and around the city would be showcased on Red Road here on October 23.Besides thousands of enthusiasts, representatives of the UK, Germany, Italy, Bangladesh and several Indian states are likely to turn up in the carnival.

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