Devotees thronged Durga Puja pandals across the state on Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the festival.

The effigies of demon king Ravan also attracted crowds at many places such as Mudipada, Dhankora, Daleipada and Burla in Sambalpur where Dussehra is celebrated in a grand way.

Dressed in their festive best people, young and old, visited more than 100 pandals in Bhubaneswar, where the Goddess is being worshipped this time. The pandals that attracted the maximum crowd were Nayapalli, Saheed Nagar and Rasulgarh.

Pandals in Cuttack were also chock-a-block with devotees who offered prayers and made offerings to the Goddess. Security was beefed up in the twin cities for the celebrations with special emphasis on traffic arrangements and CCTV surveillance in and around the pandals.

The CCTV cameras had been installed at almost all the pandals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, where some of the committees had made special arrangements for the distribution of dahi pakhal (rice soaked in curd) as prasad among the devotees on Thursday.

Devotees also flocked to pandals in Khurda and Jatni near Bhubaneswar to have a final glimpse of the Goddess with the immersion ceremony set to take place on Saturday.

Durga Puja under the banner of Bangiya Samiti formed by local Bengali community was the major attraction in Berhampur. This Puja here had begun in 1933.

“The first Durga Puja here was started by some Bengali employees working in the then Bengal-Nagpur Railway in Berhampur railway station area in 1933. A permanent pandal was constructed in the Chatarjee Lane near the Old Bus Stand opposite the Head Post Office to celebrate the Puja. We have been celebrating the Puja in the new pandal since 1998,” said Adi Durga Puja Committee secretary Sarojit Sarkar.

“We have kept alive our tradition of organising the community Durga Puja. Puja is an occasion for the get-together of Bengali families residing in the city. Around 350 Bengali families are there in Berhampur,” said Puja committee president Nepal Sarkar.

Pandals in Rourkela and Balasore also attracted huge crowds with some of the committees organising bhajan performances and musical events.

In a related development, arrangements have also begun for the idols’ immersion.

Additional inputs from Sunil Patnaik in Berhampur