Written by Hina Rohtaki | Chandigarh | Published: October 20, 2018 6:31:10 am

Residents watch Ravan dahan at Sector 5 ground in Panchkula on Saturday. Jaipal Singh

AS MANY AS 154 effigies went up in flames in the Tricity on the occasion of Dussehra to mark the victory of good over evil. The tallest Ravan effigy, 210 feet high, and made at a cost of Rs 30 lakh in Sector 5 Panchkula went up in the air within 1 minute 20 seconds. The Dussehra celebrations were accompanied by heavy jams. Panchkula was the worst witnessing over three hours of traffic congestion.
While 109 effigies of Ravan and his brothers Kumbhakaran and Meghnad were set ablaze at 36 places in Chandigarh, 32 effigies at 10 venues in Mohali and 13 at four places in Panchkula went up in flames. Over Rs 1 crore is said to have been spent on all the effigies.
At the Sector 46 Dussehra ground, three to four children suffered minor burns after splinters from the burning Ravan effigy touched them near the enclosure. Angry at the incident, people threw chairs at the enclosure. The organisers and the police, however, claimed that there were no reports of any such incident.

The Sector 5 Shalimar ground in Panchkula, meanwhile, drew a crowd of over 1.5 lakh people, said the administration. The organisers, however, claimed that over 2 lakh thronged the venue. Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhishek Jorwal said they got the petrol pump at Sector 5 closed for an hour. “Moreover, the road towards the fuel station was closed just to be on the safe side as the effigy went up in flames,” he added. Crackers worth Rs 8 lakh were packed into this effigy.

People from far and wide – Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and interiors of Punjab and Haryana apart from Chandigarh and Mohali – had come to see the country’s tallest effigy burn in Panchkula. From 4 pm onwards, several routes leading to the venue, slip roads or internal lanes, were completely choked. People parked their vehicles haphazardly on the slip roads and were trying to manoeuvre their way out even through wrong sides. An ambulance was stuck in a jam on the road dividing sectors 5 and 6. Commuters managed to make way for the ambulance. Traffic around Sector 5 – from Bella Vista Chowk to the Sector 6 roundabout and then from Sector 5 to the light point of sectors 9 and 10 towards Tawa Chowk – was cleared only around 7.50 pm.

Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar (Hindi. This belief can also be found true in other case since near to the Mata Mansa Devi Mandir in Panchkula, Haryana, there is a Chandi Mandir located nearby in Chandigarh. Mansa Devi Temple is a popular temple of Goddess Mansa Devi located at Bilwa Parvat near Haridwar. Located at 3 km from Haridwar, Mansa. Download Vaishno Devi Wallpapers and high quality Vaishno Devi HD Wallpapers full size for Desktop, Mobile & Whatsapp. Latest background collection of Vaishno Devi images, Vaishno Devi photos, Vaishno Devi pictures gallery available in 1024x768, 1366x768, 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, 1080p etc.

Haryana Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya was the chief guest at this venue. Also, judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as well as Haryana government officers attended the event.

Vishnu Goel, Chairman of the Mata Mansa Devi Charitable Trust, which organised the event, said, “Through remote control, crackers were placed at 20 different parts of the effigy. The first blast was in Ravan’s crown followed by his neck and other parts.”
People started gathering at the venue as early as 11.30 am for the best possible view. The area around the effigy with a space of over 250 feet on either side was kept vacant and cordoned off.

In Chandigarh, the Sector 46 Dussehra ground saw the tallest Ravan effigy of 87 feet with Kumbhakaran and Meghnad effigies of 80 feet each. At Sector 17, effigies of 75 feet were set ablaze. There was traffic congestion at points leading to the Sector 17 parade ground only for about 20-25 minutes.

Many from Chandigarh, Mohali and Zirakpur descended on Panchkula to watch the effigy burn.
Ramji Lal, who had come all the way to Panchkula from Rajasthan with his family, said he had read about the tallest effigy on WhatsApp. “A message was circulated in our family group about this effigy and since my kids, Pranav and Gauri, wanted to see it, we came to Panchkula. We have our relatives here, too. So, we will be staying over the weekend and then return,” said Lal.
Children reunited

A few kids in the age group of 7 to 11 years got separated from their parents at Sector 5 in Panchkula. “The children were sent on to the stage by the police and organisers made announcements following which they were reunited with their parents,” said DCP Jorwal.

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Pindi Darshan
Jai Mata Mansa Devi!

Situated in the Panchkula district just adjacent to Chandigarh, is the temple of the great Maa Mansa Devi. This temple is one amongst the 9 Devis and the Devi Shakti Peeths where Maa Sati's Angs had fallen when Lord Vishnu cut Maa's Abode in 9 parts which Lord Shiva was dancing on his shoulder with. How to reach: The closest Airports is Chandigarh which is around 65 Km's from Ambala.

-:: The Pictorial Online Tour ::-
Jai Maa

Mata Mansa Devi Darshan

Pindi Darshan

Outside market area and general facilities.

Prasad shops.

Stairs that go up the temple. The picture is taken backwards after climbing the stairs.

The bhawan's second gate after you climb the stairs. The type of meenakari work and the temple structure depicts the Muslim style as majority of the workers who built this in the 18th century were all Muslims.