SILCHAR, Oct 24 - As many as 239 idols were immersed in Barak river in Silchar. Several rescue teams were also deployed at the immersion ghat for emergency situation.
Superintendent of Police Rajveer Singh said that elaborate security was made to prevent any major incident during the immersion process.
With the skies remaining clear, from Sasthi night devotees thronged the puja pandals across the town and on outskirts. The puja organised by members of the All Medical Sales at Link Road point was one of the major attractions.
The pandal was based on the theme �Make in India� and the idols were crafted with wires and other mechanical accessories. Security arrangements were tightened to avert untoward occurrences.
As per the religious almanac, Vijaya Dashami fell on Thursday, merging with Mahanavami. But most of the puja organisers barring only 18 domestic pujas participated in the idol immersion on Friday. Sadarghat, the main venue of immersion here, was vibrating with a sea of people dancing and singing on the beats of dhak to bid adieu to Durga idols.
Idol makers to be honoured: In a bid to encourage the vast range of craftsmanship which goes into making the Durga Puja festival a success, right from the building of pandals, the clay idols of goddess Durga and other gods that accompany her, and the special lighting in the pandals and streets, the Rotaract Club under the Rotary Club Silchar has stepped up to give away special awards to idol makers, pandal decorators and electricians across the town who have caught the attention during the just concluded Durga Puja.
Amit Deb Roy, president of the Rotaract Club Silchar, told the mediapersons that they would honour the idol makers, pandal decorators and electricians with special awards. Also they would honour the traffic officials for their dedicated service in maintaining the traffic during the puja days.
The awards will include mementoes and trophies. �The awards to the idol makers, pandal decorators and electricians and also the traffic officials will be permanent ones other than our running trophies for other categories,� Amit said.
Benulal Barman, president of Rotary Club Silchar, said that they have been giving away the �Sharad Samman� awards for the last 12 years with the objective to encourage the puja organisers for exhibiting their creative excellence. He said that a five-member jury board was assigned to decide on various key points in each of the pandals across the city and they would announce their results in November.
Nirmalendu Kar Purak-ystha, service project director of Rotary Club Silchar, said such a mega festival calls for reduced sound pollution levels and disciplined way of puja hopping for the revellers and they had emphasised on these two key elements.
