Arrangements for Dussehra celebrations were completed here on Monday as effigies of Ravana reached the valley a day before their lighting at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium for Ravana Dahan, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. Sanjay Tickoo, one of the organizers said, "We are preparing for Dussehra tomorrow (Tuesday). The pictures came from Jammu this morning. We are collecting them."

"This year, one statue is 40 feet tall and the other two are 30 feet tall. They will be illuminated tomorrow after sunset," he said. Tickoo said the Kashmiri Pandit community has been celebrating it since 2007 after the festival was suspended due to an outbreak in the valley. "People come to witness it (Ravana Dahan). It is a mixed crowd of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims - most of them are Muslims. The festival is celebrated in a good way. These statues are made by Muslims and then they reach us .Jammu," he said.


Karan Veer Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, who was involved in the Dussehra preparations in the city, said that the material for Ravana Dahan was sourced from Meerut and made in Jammu. He said it would be put together by Tuesday night. Local pandit Nanna Ji said the community wants good to triumph over evil "in the true sense of Jammu and Kashmir". "People are gathering here. Many have come from Jammu and Ravana is being set on fire. We wish for the victory of good over evil in Kashmir as well and pray for the establishment of peace,” he said.