BHOPAL: Dussehra festival was celebrated on Friday with a lot of enthusiasm and fervour, even though the grandeur was missing due to fear of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
In Chhola and TT Nagar, Ravana was seen wearing a mask and Ram used vaccinedesigned arrow to create awareness among people regarding Covid safety. “In these tough times, we are encouraging people to follow Covid protocol and get vaccinated to mark victory over Covid,” said the members of organising committee at these places. The Ravana effigies were burnt at around 100 places in the city, including some major spots. C hhola Dussehra ground, which has witnessed the festival for the past 135 years, saw Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan as chief guest at the Ravana dahan venue.
Dussehra procession of Bhopal Hindu Utsav Samiti is said to be the largest in the city, where many people move along with the Lord’s chariot. Samiti’s president Kailash Begwani said, “The procession of lord Ram started from Banke Bihari Temple around 2 pm and reached Chhola ground between 8 - 9 pm, where effigy of Ravana was burnt along with that of Kumbhakaran and Meghnad.”
Efforts were taken to follow Covid precautions, said Begwani. He added, “As fear of Covid still looms, we encouraged everyone to wear masks and maintain social distancing.” But despite these efforts made by Samiti members and administration guidelines, people seemed to violate Covid-19 protocol on the venue.
At the festival time, authorities took a lenient stance, even though many cops were found counselling people including children to wear masks in public.
People from surrounding districts also came to city to watch Ravana dahan. On Friday, old city roads were crowded since morning and traffic police had made various diversions to avoid congestion around Dussehra grounds.
Traffic cops said, “Many parts of old city were affected as daily commuters were joined by the people coming out to celebrate Dussehra, but we took adequate measures to tackle any inconvenience.”
