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Festive season officially begins Monday, with city witnessing Ramleelas at 84 places across the city. Also, the nine-day Navratra fest begins.
Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said that this time a single-window system was set up through online procedure which eased the process further.
Usually till the last day, permissions would hang in the balance due to paper process required for the permissions.
“We made online application on portal this time. No paper applications. Once application is received, NOC is taken from departments concerned like police, corporation, power etc,” Yadav said.
He added, “This time, we made a clause that if NoC is not received in seven days then deemed approval will be presumed and permission will be granted.”
Fire tenders have also been asked to be deputed at the said locations to avoid any untoward incident.
Ramleelas will be staged in sectors 17, 46, 27, 28, 30 and various other places. Sitting arrangements have been made at all the places with maximum rush being witnessed in sectors 17, 27 and 46.
Ramleela committees have already begun rehearsals and are expecting crowds. Sector 17 ramleela which is one of the oldest one has tried to give a modern touch to the conventional scenes by adding a high-tech sound system.
An all-women ramleela is also being showcased at Zirakpur.
Oldest Ramleela in Sector 17
The city’s oldest, Ramleela, organised since 1953 by Shree Ramleela Committee will be showcased at Parade Ground, Sector 17.
Rehearsals are already underway for this year’s show, which will run from September 24 to October 1, culminating in the grand Dussehra celebration on October 2 at Parade Ground, Sector 17 — the biggest such event in the Tricity, drawing more than two lakh people annually.
Director Rajinder Bagga said that the committee has always strived to showcase the divine leelas of Lord Rama in innovative ways, and this year, younger performers will also get the opportunity to take up key roles. He and his family have been with committee for the last 64 years and playing the role of Lord Rama consecutively.
The team includes senior assistant director Sunil Sharma, a veteran journalist who has portrayed Ravan for over 40 years and was instrumental in introducing the high-tech recorded script format.
The script, originally penned by the late Suresh Bakshi, allows every dialogue to be clearly heard by the audience. Assistant director Rajesh Chauhan and script editor Mohit Datta — currently based in Canada but still closely associated with the committee since childhood — are also contributing to this year’s production.
General secretary Jatinder Pal Singh (Lucky) expressed confidence that this year’s Ramleela and Dussehra celebrations will be among the most memorable. He thanked the administration for simplifying the permission process through an online system, making the arrangements smoother and more efficient.
Navratra fest begins
The nine-day Navratra fest will begin Monday at the Mansa devi temple. Heavy security has been deployed as the temple witnesses thousands of people each of the nine days.
Arrangements have been made with several VIPs also set to visit the temple. The entire road has been illuminated with lights that leads to the temple from Mansa Devi Singh Dwar.
