"Yes, we felt this would be a good, innovative idea to create awareness among the public on the falling girl child ratio in Maharashtra where it has plunged to 883 for every 10000 boys as against 926 against 1000 a decade ago," Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar, who is on the State Advisory Committee, set up under the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act (prevention and misuse), told Gulf News. As a member of the temple trust, she said the women have been praying to Durga, a Hindu female deity, to promote the Save The Girl Child campaign.
"What is the point of celebrating the festival and offering prayers to Durga, who is a symbol of womanhood, if we cannot protect women in our society," she said, amid hopes that the campaign will be a success with the roping in of Bollywood stars Kajol and Ajay Devgn.
Meanwhile, prayers, fasts and celebrations marked the end of the nine-day festival as Hindus visited temples and Durga Puja pavilions, the most famous one being at Shivaji Park in Dadar, and greeted near and dear ones.
New ventures
Several roads in Mumbai were shut for the processions carrying the idol of the deity for immersion. Dasera, also referred to as Vijaydashmi, marks the victory of good over evil and is considered an auspicious day to start new ventures or even make big purchases like a house or car.
For Bengalis living in Mumbai, celebrations were on in full swing, with traditional rituals, music and celebrations. Yesterday morning, Puja pavilions across the city celebrated Sindoor Khela as married women prayed with red vermilion for their husbands' long life.
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