People in Cuttack bid adieu to Goddess Durga amid tight vigil

The five-day Durga Puja festivities came to an end in Cuttack on Saturday with people bidding an emotional farewell to the goddess, a senior police officer said.

Elaborate arrangements have been made here to ensure smooth and hassle-free immersion ceremony over two days, Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty said.

"No report of untoward incident has arrived from any part of Cuttack so far. The immersion ceremony will continue all night on Saturday and end by Sunday morning," he said.

More than 40 clay idols were immersed in Cuttack till 6pm on Saturday, Mohanty stated.

"The clay deities along with well-decorated tableaux were taken to the ghats in majestic processions for immersion in artificial ponds at Devi Gada, on the left embankment of river Kathjodi," he said.

While over 50 platoons of security personnel were deployed in the city during the five-day puja, the number has been beefed up for the immersion procession, the police commissioner said.

The fire brigade, district administration and civic body officials have also been put on high alert for the two-day-long procession, he added.