From the archive record
At the Visarjan ritual of Durga Puja, where the idol of the goddess Durga is immersed in a water body. In Delhi, that water body is the highly polluted river of Yamuna and religious rituals like these add to the crass pollution in many a rivers of India. Durga Puja also referred to as Durgotsava or Sharadotsav is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijayadashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha. Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya, the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Paksha, ('Fortnight of the For