Delhi's Ramlila Committee to burn 30-foot cockroach effigy alongside Ravana on Dussehra

Artisan Shahwez Khan, who is crafting the effigies, said his family has been making effigies since the time of his grandfather and great-grandfather.

"We make effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad. This year, there will be a new addition, an effigy of a cockroach," Khan told ANI.

He said it takes about 3-4 days to complete a single cockroach effigy, while the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad take an entire month to complete.

Earlier, Ashok Goel Devaraha, president of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee and Model Town MLA, said the decision was taken to highlight the "need to eliminate filth" from homes, neighbourhoods and society at large.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Devaraha said, "Well, the festival of Vijayadashami is celebrated with great enthusiasm across the entire country. It symbolises the triumph of truth over falsehood, good over evil, and righteousness (dharma) over unrighteousness (adharma). For thousands of years, we have been burning the effigies of Ravana, Meghnada, and Kumbhakarna; this conveys the message that, in the end, truth always prevails."

Explaining the committee's decision to introduce another effigy, he said that the practice of burning an additional effigy to represent issues affecting the country had been followed in previous years as well.

"Keeping these principles in mind, we have also, in the past, burned effigies representing various afflictions plaguing our nation, such as Naxalism or terrorism. This year, our committee has decided to burn an effigy of a cockroach, a symbol of filth, at the Keshav Ramlila Committee grounds (NSP). Our goal is to eliminate filth from three areas: our homes, our immediate surroundings, and society at large," he said.

He added that the effigy would be set alight at the committee's grounds in Pitampura. "That is why, this year, the Keshav Ramlila Committee in Pitampura will be burning an effigy in the shape of a cockroach, representing filth," Devaraha said.

Describing the planned effigy, he said, "It will be a 30-foot-tall effigy, shaped like a cockroach; its going to be quite a striking sight!"When asked why the committee had chosen a cockroach to represent the issue, Devaraha told ANI that the aim was to draw attention to the need to rid the country and society of filth.

"Look, filth, in any form, is something that our country, our society, and even our local neighbourhoods need to be rid of. That is the reason behind our decision," he said.

The decision comes amid the continuous protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the national capital. The party had earlier staged protests against former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in June and July and is now seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the allegation of irregularities in the electoral rolls revision process. (ANI)