Kataka: The Silver City of Kataka is ready to host its 36th annual Ravan Dahan (effigy burning of Ravana) at the historic Lower Bali Yatra Ground on Wednesday night, marking the classic Vijayadashami tradition of good triumphing over evil.
Organised under the aegis of the Barabati Sarvadhrama Sanskrutika Parisad, the grand festival centres around a towering 80-foot effigy of Ravana, which is scheduled to be set ablaze alongside a massive fireworks display precisely at midnight. Festivities are set to kick off at 7 pm and continue through the night, featuring an extensive lineup of cultural performances with local artistes and traditional dance and music troupes drawn from across Odisha, including Baragada and Balangir.
BJP Odisha State President Manmohan Samal is slated to attend the spectacle as the chief guest.
To manage the immense festive rush, organisers have set up designated seating for roughly 8,000 to 10,000 spectators at the venue, though well over a hundred thousand people are expected to gather in and around the Bali Yatra Ground to witness the annual celebration.
The event forms part of broader state-wide Vijayadashami festivities, running alongside similar arrangements across the twin cities, including nine licensed Ravan Dahan locations in neighbouring Bhubaneswar. Strict safety and security measures have been enforced by police and municipal authorities, including mandatory 100-metre barricaded safety perimeters around the effigies, dedicated fire services at each venue, and multi-platoon police deployments for crowd management, all paving the way for the grand Durga Puja idol immersion (Visarjan Utsav) scheduled for the following day.
