Tura, Oct 15: The annual Hindu festival of Durga Puja, celebrated annually in Garo Hills for more than 100 years, came to a colourful closure on Friday evening with immersion of the idols of goddess durga in Tura and other towns where the celebrations were held for the last five days.A total of 122 durga puja mandaps were set up in Garo Hills to celebrate goddess Durga’s victory over the evil Mahishasur with the traditional immersion of the deity in rivers and lakes.Tura had the largest number of puja mandaps-26 pandals across the town, with the major and oldest ones centered around the main market area.Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma also visited the various puja pandals during the peak of celebrations on Wednesday evening interacting with the puja committee members and devotees.In view of covid protocols in place to check against infection because of the continuing covid-19 pandemic, hand sanitizing was encouraged among devotees visiting the mandaps. This time the blessed food or Prasad was provided as a take away to avoid large gatherings at the venues.

On Friday noon, trucks loaded with the idols of goddess durga made their way through Tura bazaar and to the immersion ghat at Babupara where the final rituals took place.

Led by the oldest durga puja mandap of the Nepali community, which has been celebrating the event for over a century in Tura, devotees walked alongside the trucks carrying the idols, surrounded by incense and drum beating, to the immersion ghat for the final time to bring this colourful celebration to a conclusion. The entire puja immersion was completed before 6 o’clock in the evening as devotees carried back water from the immersion site to their homes, while others immersed themselves to pay obeisance to the gods.