The five-day Durga Puja, greatest religious festival of the Hindus, ended on Wednesday with immersion of Goddess Durga's idols across the country.

Devotees bade an emotional farewell to their deity Durga and her four children -- Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha -- through immersion in rivers or sea after inviting her to return next year.

After worshipping the Maha Dashami at different puja mandaps, the devotees brought out Bijoya Dashami procession carrying Durga and her children to riverbanks in the afternoon.

In the capital, thousands of devotees joined the traditional Bijoya procession from Dhakeshwari National Temple that marched through different city streets and ended to Waizghat on the Buriganga.

In the morning, married women prepared the idols for their long journey home by smearing them and each other with vermilion.

They offered sweets to the god and prayed for the well-being of their families.

The government took tight security measures on the occasion. A large number of law enforcers including members of Rapid Action Battalion were deployed at puja mandaps and places of immersion of idols.

A total of 27,000 pandals (mandaps) have been set up across Bangladesh this year to celebrate Durga Puja.

Bijoya Dashami is the special ceremony to reaffirm peace and goodwill among people.

Hindus believe that Dashami is the day when goddess Durga accompanied by her children set off for Kailash, her husband's abode.