Heads down: The stooped effigy of Ravana before it was set ablaze on Dussehra at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Oct. 7: For the first time in the history of Dussehra celebrations at Gandhi Maidan, the effigy of Ravana stooped before it could be burnt. The effigies of Kumbhakarna and Meghdoot did not burn properly either.

Sources said chief minister Nitish Kumar, present on the occasion, expressed disappointment over the issue. He said the arrangements were not made according to the estimated crowd.

Shri Dussehra Committee Trust, which has been organising the Vijaya Dashami celebrations at Gandhi Maidan for the past 57 years, blamed the administration for the poor show. Sushma Sahu, the committee treasurer, said: “It was not our fault. We have been giving our blood and sweat for this particular event and want to celebrate it in the proper way. It was the fault of the administration, which engaged our workers in their work. A cultural event was being held at the same venue for the past few days and the district administration used our workers, involved in pulling the effigies, to remove the barricade before the governor, chief minister and deputy chief minister arrived.”

She added: “We were hardly left with any worker at the last moment. At least 30 workers are required to keep the 65-foot-tall effigy upright. Everything was going according to plan but at the eleventh hour the Ravana’s effigy stooped because its waist broke down while pulling it. It was really embarrassing that even Nitish Kumarji expressed his disappointment. We were speechless.”

The legs and the waist of the Ravana’s effigy were damaged after it collapsed twice. It was not possible for the workers to put it back on its feet for the third time. So they just balanced it on a few bamboos. But once the effigy of Ravana was torched, it fell down in a few seconds and did not burn properly.

Ashok Kumar Sudhkar, who made all the three effigies, said: “I gave my best in terms of making the effigies. They were properly made and there was no chance of their breaking. Till afternoon, the workers were busy removing the barricades of the pandals installed for the Bihar government’s cultural programme. They could be involved in our work only at the last minute.”

Explaining why the effigies of Kumbhakarna and Meghdoot did not burn properly, Mohammad Elahi Baksh, who has been fixing crackers inside the effigies for the past 40 years, said: “There was no problem with the crackers. They were fixed properly. But I got less time to do that.”

Patna district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh told The Telegraph that the district administration was not responsible for organising the show.