With four days of revelry coming to an end on Sunday, Bengal started bidding adieu to Goddess Durga as thousands of idols were immersed in Hooghly amid tight security since Monday.

The state environment department and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) officials have been on their toes monitoring the immersion process. Every year the condition of the ghats after the immersions leaves the environmentalists a worried lot.

Along with a large contingent of police forces, a group of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) workers and dog squads were also present at the immersion points.

This year, all the ghats around the city saw a heavy security arrangement. Around 6,500 police personnel have been deployed along the banks of Hooghly, with the majority chunk lying around Nimatala, Bajakadomtala, Doighat, Gwalior and Babughat — where the maximum number of immersions take place.

Though Monday was supposed to be the day for immersions, not all idols were immersed on that day. While the traditional puja organisers conduct the immersion on Bijoya Dashami, some community Puja organisers keep the idols in the pandals for one or two more days.

While tussle between the KMC, Kolkata Port Trust and Kolkata Police over the responsibility of cleaning the banks during immersions have been a regular feature every year, this year the situation seemed to have improved to a certain extent. Around 1,500 KMC volunteers along with those of several NGOs are working in the 12 ghats and 38 small water bodies across the city.

“There are 40 ghats where we have deployed our workers along with volunteers of NGOs. In Babughat and Gwalior ghat alone we have almost 150 personnel working. We have kept generators and lights to be used during the night. Our volunteers are also sprinkling bleaching powder,” said Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, Member Mayor in Council, Parks and Squares, KMC.

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