Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: The five-day long Dussehra festival on Thursday came to an end with immersion of Goddess Durga idols at various artificial ponds made by the civic bodies in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
Amid intermittent rain induced by the Low Pressure, devotees in thousands thronged the Millennium city Cuttack to offer last prayers to the goddess on the occasion.
The process for the grand event began since early morning with observance of certain rituals. Later, the idols of various committees were taken on scheduled route amid grand procession marked by various cultural events like puppet dance, ghoda nacha, beating of gongs, drums and blowing of conchs.
Artificial ponds were dug on Mahanadi and Kathajodi river ghat in Cuttack for the immersion of idols.
Similarly, incessant rain failed to dampen the spirit of the devotees and committee members in Bhubaneswar during immersion ceremony. Organisers had left no stone unturned to make the immersion festival a memorable one. The function was marked by various traditional dances and music on city roads.
The Commissionerate police had made elaborate security arrangements on the thoroughfares and at the river ghats for peaceful observance of the idol-immersion ceremony.
