The five-day Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the minority Hindu community, ends on Thursday with the immersion of the idol of goddess Durga across Bangladesh, including Dhaka.
Devotees thronged puja mandaps on the last day of the festival, Bijoya Dashami, offering flowers to the goddess Durga and seeking her blessings.
Puja mandaps across the country were placed with beautiful idols, showcasing the goddess in all her glory.
Bijoya Dashami is a special ceremony of reaffirming peace and good relations among people.
On the day, families visit each other to share sweetmeats. Married Hindu women put vermilion on each other鈥檚 foreheads on the occasion.
Around 33,355 puja mandaps across the country, including the capital, celebrated the religious festival this year.
In the capital, thousands of people thronged the Buriganga River to perform the festival鈥檚 final ritual鈥攖he immersion of the idol of goddess Durga.
Devotees with tearful eyes bid farewell to the mother deity and her children鈥揕akshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh鈥攖hrough the immersion of their idols in the water, wishing for Durga鈥檚 return next year.
Meanwhile, strict security measures were in place so that Durga Puja ended peacefully.
The five-day festival began on September 28 with the incarnation of the goddess Durga, marking Sashthi.
Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival also known as Sharadiya Durga Utsab, is the worship of 鈥楽hakti鈥�, the divine force, embodied in goddess Durga.
It symbolises the battle between good and evil, where the dark forces eventually surrender to the divine.
