Dussehra in Chandigarh 2026: Date, Ramlila Grounds and Ravan Dahan

✍️ By Rahul Goyal · Chandigarh Life · Updated 22 October 2026

Every 2026 festival date, with its weekday and whether it is a holiday in Chandigarh, is in our Chandigarh festival calendar.

Is Dussehra on 20 or 21 October in Chandigarh?

Tuesday, 20 October. The Chandigarh Administration’s 2026 holiday list and Drik Panchang both give the 20th. Drik Panchang’s Dashami tithi begins at 12:50 PM that day and runs to 2:11 PM on 21 October, so it was in force on the evening of the 20th and over by the evening of the 21st. Maha Navami was on Tuesday, 20 October on the Bengal rule and in the central government list, while Drik Panchang’s North Indian rule puts it on Monday, 19 October.

The 21st turns up in one place: Drik Panchang lists a separate Bengal observance of Vijayadashami on that day. If you follow a Bengali association’s programme, ask that committee for its own dates. Our Durga Puja guide and Kalibari Mandir guide list what we could confirm.

How Dussehra 2026 went in Chandigarh

Dussehra fell on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. The biggest burning in the city was at Sector 46, where the Shri Sanatan Dharma Dasehra Committee held its 29th Dussehra Mahotsav at the Sabzi Mandi Ground. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria was the chief guest. The committee burnt a 106-ft Ravan, billed as the tallest in the city, along with Meghnath, Kumbhkaran and a separate effigy of drugs as an anti-drug message, as The Tribune and The India Post reported. The India Post put the crowd at over one lakh; that is the paper’s estimate, not a count.

Amar Ujala counted Ravan Dahan at 42 places in Chandigarh and 7 in Mohali, and reported traffic restrictions from 5 to 7 PM around the Sector 17 Parade Ground, Sector 34 and the Sector 46 ground. In Panchkula, a 221-ft Ravan, billed as the tallest in the tricity, was burnt at the Shalimar Ground in Sector 5; see Dussehra in Panchkula. We filmed the evening at Sector 46 and Sector 30; the videos are below.

How Dussehra works in the city

Chandigarh’s Dussehra is a neighbourhood affair. Committees stage a Ramlila through Navratri and end it with Ravan Dahan on Dussehra. Wikipedia’s page on Ramlila in Chandigarh says the shows run from Amavasya to the Dashami tithi of Ashwin, and that a body called the Chandigarh Kendriya Ramleela Mahasabha links the city’s Ramlilas through a three-day competition between them.

The same page puts the count at almost 60 places, 40 of them registered, but that comes from a 2016 press report and the number moves from year to year, so read it as a rough size and not a current count. It names three committees as the oldest, each drawing more than 10,000 people (a 2014 report): the Navyug Ramlila and Dussehra Committee in Sector 7, the Garhwal Ramleela Mandal at the Bijli Board in Sector 28, and the Chandigarh Ramleela Committee in Sector 22-B. Navyug was founded in 1979. Committee-by-committee detail is in our Ram Leela in Chandigarh guide.

Ramleela and Dussehra grounds in the Estate Office list

The Chandigarh Estate Office publishes a list of reserve land and open grounds that can be booked for marriage, religious and social functions. These entries carry a Ramleela or Dussehra name:

It is a booking list. It does not say which committee uses a ground or on which nights, so it tells you where to look and not what is on. For Sector 46, Google Maps has a playground called Dussehra Ground 46, in Sector 46D (160047), which is the name to type into the search box. Ask the committee for its schedule.

Sector 46 in 2025

The best-known Chandigarh ground is Sector 46, where the Shri Sanatan Dharma Dasehra Committee burns the effigies. In 2025 its chairman, Jatinder Bhatia, said the three effigies would be lit remotely from the stage, with a burning “Sone ki Lanka” and eco-friendly aerial fireworks, and that the celebration draws close to a lakh visitors, as reported by The Tribune. The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator was the chief guest. Its 2026 celebration, with a 106-ft Ravan, is described above.

Panchkula, Mohali and Zirakpur

Panchkula’s Dussehra ground is the Dusshera Ground in Sector 5, and it has its own page: Dussehra in Panchkula 2026. Its Ravan is usually billed as the tallest in the tricity; that page sets out what has been reported about its height, and what is confirmed. In Mohali we posted a Ravan Dahan video from Sector 79 in October 2025 (below). Our Mohali Diwali Mela page gives the Dussehra Ground in Sector 79 as that mela’s venue. From Zirakpur we posted a women’s Ram Leela video in September 2024. We have not verified organisers or timings in either place, so ask locally.

🎥 Watch: On Chandigarh Life

From our channel: Ravan Dahan at Sector 46 and Sector 30 on Dussehra 2026, a Ravan effigy in Chandigarh before Dussehra (1 October 2025), Ravan Dahan at Sector 79 Mohali (October 2025) and at several places across the tricity (October 2024).

Traffic and getting there

The Chandigarh Traffic Police website lists a traffic helpline on 1073. Panchkula Traffic Police asks people with a traffic problem or complaint to call 0172-2561900, and runs a Facebook page at facebook.com/cppanchkula. Ask about diversions and parking before you leave. On Dussehra 2026, traffic was restricted from 5 to 7 PM around the three busiest grounds, so expect a similar plan in 2027.

Before and after Dussehra

• Sunday, 11 October: Navratri began and so did Agrasen Jayanti. See the best places to visit for Navratri, dandiya and garba nights, and the temples at Mansa Devi and Chandi Mata.
• Monday, 19 and Tuesday, 20 October: Ashtami on the 19th and Navami on the 19th or 20th, depending on the calendar, in our Durga Puja guide.
• Thursday, 29 October: Karwa Chauth.
• Friday, 6 November: Dhanteras, then Diwali on Sunday, 8 November, with Diwali events in Chandigarh.
• Every other date is in the Chandigarh festival calendar.

FAQs

Sources

Dussehra 2026 reports: The Tribune, 20 October 2026 (the Sector 46 and Panchkula effigies and the chief guest); The India Post, 20 October 2026 (the Sector 46 celebration and its crowd estimate); Amar Ujala, 20 October 2026 (the number of Ravan Dahan sites and the traffic restrictions).

Sector 46 in 2025: The Tribune, 2 October 2025, quoting the committee chairman.

• Chandigarh Administration Home Department holiday notification for 2026
• Drik Panchang, Vijayadashami 2026 for Chandigarh
• Drik Panchang, Vijayadashami 2027 for Chandigarh
• Drik Panchang, Shardiya Navratri 2026 for Chandigarh
• Wikipedia, Ramlila in Chandigarh
• Wikipedia, Navyug Ramlila and Dussehra Committee
• Wikipedia, Vijayadashami
• Chandigarh Estate Office, list of reserve land and open grounds
• Google Maps, Dussehra Ground 46
• Chandigarh Traffic Police
• Panchkula Police, traffic overview

The facts added to this page on 20 September 2026 were checked against the sources above.