Bihar: Security beefed up ahead of Ravana Dahan in Patna
Oct 22, 2023
Patna (Bihar) [India], October 22 : Dussehra celebrations are all set to take place with great pomp and show in Bihar's Patna. With this, security arrangements have also been made to maintain the law and order in the city amid the festive fervour.
The district administration has permitted organisers to hold Dussehra celebrations in the city by adhering to guidelines issued by the state government.
Speaking about the security arrangements for 'Ravana Dahan' in Patna's Gandhi Maidan, District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said, "We have made all the arrangements to maintain the law and order, barricading has been done and citizens will be allowed to the maidan from gate no. 5, 7 and 10 and entry for VVIPs will be from gate no.1."
"Arrangements for lights have been done, the area will be monitored via CCTV visuals, outside the Gandhi Maidan, patrolling will be done...medical camp will be here, and arrangements for 11 ambulances have been done," the DM added.
Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Navaratri.
It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or oceanfront that involve carrying clay statues of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell.
In other places, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolising evil, are burnt with fireworks, marking evil's destruction.
The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.
This year, Dussehra will be celebrated on October 24 (Tuesday). The Dashami Tithi will start from 05:45 PM on October 23, 2023, and will end at 03:14 PM on October 24, 2023.