New Delhi: In a rare departure from annual tradition, the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee will set ablaze a 30-foot effigy of a cockroach alongside the conventional figures of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad during this year's Dussehra celebrations, carrying a symbolic mandate for nationwide hygiene.

Master craftsman Shahwez Khan, tasked with constructing the effigies, noted that his family has maintained the artisanal tradition across multiple generations.

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

He explained that fabricating a single cockroach structure requires three to four days of labour, whereas crafting the primary effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad occupies an entire month.

Earlier, Ashok Goel Devaraha, president of the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee and Model Town MLA, announced that the initiative was conceived to emphasise the "need to eliminate filth" from domestic households, local environments, and society collectively.

Addressing reporters on Thursday, Devaraha observed, "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."

Elaborating on the rationale behind incorporating an additional monument, he recalled that the committee has historically introduced supplementary effigies to spotlight contemporary national challenges.

"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 explained.

He confirmed that the ceremonial burning will take place at the committee's venue 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 added.

Providing details on the physical structure, he remarked, "It will be a 30-foot-tall effigy, shaped like a cockroach; it’s going to be quite a striking sight!"

When questioned regarding the specific selection of a cockroach as the representative symbol, Devaraha reiterated that the objective remains focused on purging filth from civic spaces.

"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 announcement coincides with ongoing political demonstrations staged in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The newly prominent grouping previously organised protests targeting former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan throughout June and July, and is currently campaigning for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged discrepancies in the electoral roll revision exercise.

ANI