Evil goes up in smoke

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 30

Dasehra celebrated with fervour in Mohali. The festival was celebrated at four places — Phase I, Phase VIII, Sector 66 and Sector 68 — in the city.

All venues witnessed large crowds who reached the spots to witness the victory of good over evil.

The organisers at Phase VIII also burnt an effigy of ‘Babas’ (the self-proclaimed godmen) along with effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkarna and Meghnad.

Madhu Bhushan, member of the local Dasehra Committee, said this year a 80-foot high effigy of Ravana was erected. The height of effigies of Kumbhkarna and Meghnada was 75 foot and 70 foot, respectively.

“Every year, we burn effigy of some prevalent social evil along with the demon kings. This year, we burnt the effigy of ‘babas’ to give a message to people to keep away from such social evils,” said Bhushan.

Mohali DC Gurpreet Kaur Sapra was the chief guest at the event at Phase VII.

Several spots witness traffic chaos

The Dasehra festivities also caused traffic jams at several roads in the town. Roads at Phase VIII saw traffic blockade for around 30 minutes as people parked their vehicles in the middle of the roads to witness burning of effigies of the demon kings. Long queues of vehicles were seen on the road, separating Phase VII and VIII, Sector 70, Kumbhra Chowk, Phase 7 traffic light point, Phase I and Sector 68, here during the evening hours. 

“Today is a festival day so everybody is in a good mood. We don’t want to spoil anybody’s day by taking any harsh action,” said a policeman when pointed out towards parking of vehicles in the middle of the road by a number of revellers.

Panchkula spreads social awareness amid celebrations

Panchkula: Dashera was celebrated in Sector 5, Panchkula, with the messages of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’. There was a huge rush in Sector 5 where  people had reached to see the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad going up in flames. The use of remote control and light in Ravana’s eyes was the major attraction. The programme was organised by the Sri Mansa Devi Charitable and Development Trust and the Adarsh Ramleela Dramatic Club, said trust general secretary Sandeep Gupta. The other event was organised at the Sector 15 Sabzi Mandi ground, where 75-foot effigies were put afire. After the celebrations, the nearby sectors also witnessed jams.

Effigy of godmen burnt in Mohali

All venues witnessed large crowds who reached the spots to witness the victory of good over evil. Organisers at Phase VIII also burnt an effigy of ‘Babas’ (the self-proclaimed godmen) along with effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkarna  and Meghnad.