OUR CORRESPONDENT
DHUBRI: Dipankar Majumder, a social activist of Dhubri district, recently drew public attention through a unique initiative. He took special steps to ensure the respectful and proper disposal of idols of deities that were found abandoned on roadsides, near drains, and in filthy places.
"Throughout the year, we celebrate various religious festivals and organize pujas with deep devotion and reverence. However, after the conclusion of the pujas or after new idols replace the old ones in subsequent years, the old idols often end up being left under trees, by the roadside, or beside drains in unhygienic and neglected conditions," Majumder resented.
"Idols were found in several well-known areas of Dhubri-such as College Road, near Victoria Park, and close to the BSF Camp (Water Wing)," he said.
Moved by devotion and a sense of responsibility, Dipankar Majumder, along with his associates, collected these neglected idols and made arrangements for their immersion in the Brahmaputra river in a respectful manner.
Majumder asked, "Is it appropriate for the idols of gods and goddesses-worshipped with emotion, devotion, and reverence-to be treated so disrespectfully after the puja is over? When the Brahmaputra river and the Gadadhar river flow right by the town, is it not possible for people to immerse worshipped idols in the river with proper rituals after the completion of puja?"
The objective of this special initiative was to encourage the people of Dhubri to reflect on this issue with a more humane and sensitive outlook. The message aimed to spread awareness so that, after pujas, no revered idol is left abandoned or neglected along the streets.
Dipankar Majumder was assisted in this initiative by Gauranga Biswas, Rakesh Ghosh, Ananta Chakraborty, Jagannath Das, and Tapan Das.
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