Revellers make merry burning Narakasur effigies in Goa

Goa witnessed mid-night traffic jams in majority of its cities when lakhs of people thronged the streets to get a glimpse of the ‘Narakasur’ effigies. The effigies, sometimes as tall as 10 feet, were taken into procession last night and burnt during the wee hours to mark the onset of the festival of lights, to celebrate the victory of good over evil.

The midnight rains, for a few hours, however, dampened the spirits of Narakasur revellers. The water soaked Narakasurs were later burnt with much trouble after dousing them with kerosene and other inflammable liquids. The loud music was played till wee hours with police keeping strict watch near Narakasur effigy competition held in several parts. Hindu right organisations had asked people not to glorify the demon but the revellers knew no bounds to their enthusiasm. Narakasur is a mythical demon, who was killed by Lord Krishna. Police spokesman Atmaram Deshpande said the night was ‘incident-free’. “It was a peaceful night and everybody had a great time,” he said adding the police picketing was maintained at most of the spots. “Everything went on as expected,” Deshpande said. Fire and emergency services had given ‘fire cover’ to huge Narakasur effigies. A fire tender along with the staff was accompanying the revellers to avoid any fire-related incidents.