By Siraj Khan
Nepalgunj, Oct. 18: Navdurga Bhavani idol immersion programme has completed in Banke district in the participation of the people from both the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Leaders of both the communities participated in the idol immersion programme.
The Hindus worship the idols of Nava Durga Bhawani for nine days on the occasion of Bada Dashain before immersing them on the 11th day or a day after the Bijaya Dashami.
Leaders of both Hindu and Muslim communities in different parts of the city participated in the immersion programme, said Bhola Siddiqui, a member of the Constituent Assembly and a Muslim leader.

Durga Puja is practised in the Terai region. Devotees flock nearby rivers and streams to pay homage to the idols of Durga in the district.
He said that there was collective participation of people from all communities in the immersion programme as participating in the festivals of all religious communities has become of popular practice in Banke.

Another leader, Mohammad Qadir Ansari, who was also in the idol immersion programme, said that Banke has offered an example of religious harmony as the people here have started celebrating each other's festivals together.

Another Muslim leader, Mohammad Harun Halwai, said that all the festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Eid, Bakar Eid, Mohammad Day, Durga Puja, Fagu Poornima and Raksha Bandhan are celebrated together.
Leader of the Hindu community Deepak Lodh said that the district was known as a district of religious harmony due to unity among all religious communities, and the practice of participating and showing respect to all the festivals no matter to which community they belong to.

Meanwhile, Durga idols were immersed by Hindus and Muslims together in Narainapur as well, where religious harmony was disturbed once a few years ago.
Now both the religious communities have started celebrating all the festivals together in Narainapur Rural Municipality.

As the chairman of the Rural Municipality, Ishtiaq Ahmed Shah himself participates in every festival, everyone participates in all the festivals.
When any festival comes, chairman Shah holds discussions with various religious leaders of Narainapur to celebrate them together.