Visarjan and Dussehra Processions in Jabalpurजबलपुर में विसर्जन और दशहरा चल समारोह

The last nights

Jabalpur’s Navratri does not end in the pandals. After Navami and Dussehra, samiti idols are taken out in processions and immersed, and reports name old city tanks such as Hanumantal and designated kunds at Gwarighat as the destinations. Everything below comes from press and court records, so it describes particular years, not a fixed rulebook.

The Dussehra chal samaroh

The Hitavada reported on 4 October 2025 that the Govindganj Ramlila Committee’s procession gathered at Nagar Nigam Chowk on Vijayadashami night, began moving late and followed its traditional path via Teen Patti to Hanumantal [1]. It carried nearly two dozen tableaux, with the Ram-Ravan battle as the centrepiece, alongside others on modern themes [1]. About 21 Durga idols from different samitis joined. The idols of the Nunhai Sarafa and Sunarhai samitis led, and the Mahakali from Garhafatak came last as the finale; she reached Hanumantal in the morning and was immersed at 11 am [1]. Effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath were burnt at Miloniganj and Chhota Fuhara [1].

Other areas hold their own processions. Free Press Journal reported on 4 October 2025 that an iron truss attached to a pandal collapsed on a Dussehra procession in the Gadha area, killing one woman and injuring about 15 people; police began an inquiry [3]. The reason to mention it is practical: stay out of crowded stretches under temporary structures, and follow marshals and police.

Hanumantal and Gwarighat

Two immersion sites recur in the reports. Hanumantal, an old city tank (Wikipedia notes it among ponds attributed to Rani Durgavati, a tradition we have not verified) [8], was the end point of the 2025 chal samaroh [1] and of the Badi Khermai jawara procession in 2023 [7]. The Bhitauli Visarjan Kund at Gwarighat took the Mahakali in 2020: she left at 1 am and was immersed at 5 am after a procession of about 12 km that, the paper said, followed COVID-19 guidelines, with residents performing aarti along the way [2].

From the river to the kund

The kunds are a recent change. The Hitavada wrote in October 2020 that idols were once immersed directly in the Narmada at Gwarighat and Tilwaraghat, and that after directives of the National Green Tribunal the administration built Visarjan Kunds at both places [4]. The Collector and SP inspected the Bhitauli kund, where steps were added and the water was diverted so it would not flow back into the river [4]. See also Tilwara Ghat and the Narmada and Jabalpur.

The change has a legal trail. In 2013 a petitioner challenged an immersion pit dug near the Narmada in Jabalpur; the NGT’s Bhopal bench left the site, about 60 to 70 metres from the river and a former stone mine, but barred further digging, ordered the plastic lining removed within 48 hours of immersion, debris sent to a waste site and not burnt, and compliance with the CPCB’s 2010 guidelines. The High Court, noting the NGT order, closed its case on 20 November 2013 [5]. Whether that pit is today’s Bhitauli kund is not stated.

The rules, briefly

India’s central guidelines are advice, not law. The CPCB’s revised guidelines of 12 May 2020 recommend natural clay and natural dyes, no single-use plastic or thermocol, designated and barricaded immersion zones, artificial ponds where possible and clean-up afterwards, and states may add stricter rules [6]. The kunds at Gwarighat and Tilwara were built after NGT directives, in the same spirit [4]. For what artisans make and use, see Idol makers and pandal craft.

If you go

Roads close and crowds are very large. Follow police and samiti instructions, avoid standing under hoardings or structures, and keep children close. Times differ every year: in 2025 the procession began moving late at night and the Mahakali was immersed at 11 am, but the schedule is announced locally, so check with the district administration or the samiti.

Further reading

• Jabalpur ki Navratri
• Jawara and Badi Khermai