1)Dear Twitter friends
My heart bleeds and my soul writhes in pain, writing this tweet about what happened in Munger yesterday

I usually do not write threads, but today I’m pouring my heart out. Please go through it friends

I’m a native of Munger (my birthplace). It’s a small

2) & historical town of Bihar, situated along the bank of river Ganga. It may have wrong reasons to be famous 4 but the one good thing it’s famous 4 is ‘Durga Puja’ & even more the ‘Iconic Visarjan’

Munger’s Durga Puja is special & different in the way that, it follows certain

3) hierarchy i.e. The most revered is Badi Durga Maharani, then Chhoti Durga, Badi Kali & Chhoti Kali. During Visarjan this hierarchy is particularly maintained. Badi Durga, Chhoti Durga & Badi Kali are ceremoniously taken on the shoulders of 32 Kahars in a very pious manner.

4) There is a certain route which used to be strictly followed, with fixed stops for various reasons like Milan, Arti etc. on the way.
This time it was no different, in terms of Devi Ma’s ceremonies, but in the wake of pandemic, religious fervour was largely dampened.

5) The highest authority of ‘Badi Durga Samiti’ is the SP of the town. The samiti members had requested the SP to ask for a different date for Munger election, but she did nothing. Then the samiti members asked her to reschedule Visarjan for 29th, she still didn’t agree

6) Yesterday samiti members started visarjan ceremonies well in time, but Durga Ma could not be moved an inch from her place. That’s how it’s been since years, whenever people tried to modify anything. It never worked.

Lastly, around 4pm the procession started. The whole town

7) was filled with BSF & CRPF battalions and they kept poking the karyakartas all through their way. Just imagine the pressure on them. Whoever lends a shoulder to Murti of Durga Ma (other than Kahars) has to be barefoot, no leather stuff on the body, not consumed non veg.

8) There was a point when Devi Ma was kept on the ground at one of the stops, police force started pressurising karyakartas once again. They tried to lift the Murti, but they failed. When they made several attempts & failed, policemen said, people are deliberately doing it

9) karyakartas still did not fuss & moved back & asked administration to take over, if they are able to move the statue. They made 17 failed attempts but couldn’t move a bit. Finally, Ma moved only at the previous scheduled time for that stop
This was unacceptable to the tyrant

10) SP. She ordered the police force to make other Devis overtake Badi Durga Ma and hasten the visarjan, now it got 2 much for the people. The karyakartas with other Devis started arguing the policemen & it was then that the HELL BROKE. Several rounds of firing by police stampede

11)& in mnts the mammoth crowd dispersed. The streets which was echoing with Devi Ma’s jaykara was deserted. Only the Kahars & the karyakartas of Badi Durga Ma remained with the Murti, who were brutally beaten by Policemen in uniform & in civil dress. Later even they left

12)Somehow Badi Durga Ma was brought on shoulders of random people, no Maha Arti, other idols immersed before Badi Devi. The traditions, religious sentiments all were ravaged
Lastly when Badi Devi reaches Ganga ghat she is veiled from all sides, her gold jewellery is removed &

13) replaced by artificial ones & finally at the time of immersion Ma is blindfolded with a cloth, when her crown is removed. The same person who adorns, removes the jewellery. This time, no veils, random person cuts the jewellery to remove it & finally the idol was immersed

14)Chhoti Durga who also comes on Kahar was forcibly put on a dirty Municipality tractor and literally thrown into Ganga by JCB
Badi Kali reached Ganga ghat with broken limbs

People of Munger are more than devastated

Will share the concerned images & videos