Devotion transcends boundaries as people from India and Bangladesh unite to bid adieu to Goddess Durga along the Kushiyara River

Bengalis from India and Bangladesh gather along the international border to bid adieu to Goddess Durga until the next Durga Puja. A thousand citizens gathered along both sides of the Kushiyara river to celebrate the Dashami and immerse the idol of Durga. People from India’s Karimganj and Bangladesh’s Zakiganj share the same language, culture and ethnicity but are separated by political boundaries, yesterday this separation felt a little less for the people of both sides.

75 years back, these palaces were a part of the same country but the partition separated them. First, it was India and East Pakistan and from 1971 it was India-Bangladesh. The border separates the people from both these areas and the border security forces from both sides ensure security and harmony in this celebration of Dashami.

The most priceless view of Dashami was the same idols from both countries being brought in huge boats. The idols of India are lined up in the Karimganj Immersion Ghat and Bangladesh’s idols in Zakiganj Immersion Ghat. The same river, the same idol, the same rituals and language, the only thing separating them was the man-made border as a result of partition. Dashami unites the people from both these separated areas every year and this year too, the unity overjoyed everyone and made them emotional.

The immersion at Karimganj Ghat started at 9 in the morning and continued till late at night with the immersion of over a hundred idols. To maintain peace, harmony and safety during the immersion, the Chairperson of Karimganj Municipality Rabindra Deb, along with MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkasthaya, Krishnendu Paul, the Deputy Commissioner of Karimganj Mridul Yadav, SP Padmanabh Baruah and personnel from the BSF and SDRF were present throughout the time of the immersion.