Dussehra slated on September 30, the Dussehra committee members are now busy giving things a final shape. They said that the effigy of Ravana, the demon king, to be torched at Parade Ground in Dehradun to mark the day would be 62 feet tall   while those of Kumbhakarna and Meghnad, his brother and son, would be 58 feet and 52 feet tall respectively. This year, the effigy of Ravana would have 20 hands and Kumbhkarna would have a big stomach, said Harish Virmani, president of Dussehra Committee (Bannu Biradari), on Tuesday. lanka would be having three floors in Kila shape, he further said. 

Making effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkarna and Meghnad and other arrangements related to the event are being done on a war footing, he added.

A committee member Santokh Singh Nagpal said that the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad would be lit on the occasion of Vijaydashmi on September 30. “like previous years, Ravana will meet his symbolic end at the hands of lord Rama during the Vijaydashmi celebrations. This year, providing novelty to things,  Hanumaan would enter lanka  with the  mission of lanka Dahan while emerging  from the devil’s mouth,” he said.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat would be the Chief guest while MlAs- Harbans Kapoor, Vinod Chamoli, Ganesh Joshi, Khajan Das and Umesh Sharma Kau  would be there as special guests. 

A team of 33 artisans led by Manoj from Delhi have designed huge effigies of the trio, said Nagpal, adding  that the effigy-making  of Ravana would   cost a little over Rs 1.5 lakhs while Rs 90, 000 for Kumbhakarna and Meghnad. Firecrackers worth around Rs 1 lakh would be used to light the three effigies. 

The torching of the effigies of the demon trio at the hands of lord Rama, embodying the forces of the righteousness, symbolizes the victory of good over evil as depicted in the epic Ramayana.

Nagpal further said that the effigies of the trio   would be lighted at 6.05 pm, adding that they are trying their best to lend the symbolic lanka Dhahan as much novelty as possible. 

“After burning the effigies of Meghnad, Kumbhkarna and Ravana, we will have special fireworks going for an hour," he said, adding that the programme on Bharat Milap would follow the fire cracker show.  

To mark Dussehra, religious processions would also be taken out. The main one would start from Kalika Temple and pass through several places like Paltan Bazaar, Moti Bazaar and Rajpur Road. It would finally end at Parade Ground.