Huge effigies of demon king Ravana went up in flames as Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and the hill State of Himachal Pradesh as the people celebrated Dussehra, marking the triumph of good over evil.
Effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakaran were set on fire and crackers burst at different at scores of places.Festivities passed off peacefully amid tight security arrangements in different parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Shimla.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was the Chief Guest in Pathankot for Dussehra celebrations while Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar was in Faridabad, officials said.In Chandigarh, the main attraction was an 83-foot tall Ravana effigy at the Sector 46 ground.
A 210-feet effigy, built at a cost of Rs 25 lakh, had been put up at Mela ground at Barara in Haryana’s Ambala district.
In Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra SIngh was the chief guest at the Dushhera festival at the famous Jakhu temple of Shimla. He pressed the remote button to lit the giant statues amidst thousand of voices raising Jai Shri Ram and Jai Hanumaan slogans. Governor Acharya Devvrat on the other hand inaugurated the week long Kullu Dussehra Festival in Kullu.