The week-long international Dussehra festival will be held with traditional gaiety and fervour from October 3 to 9.
Presiding over the meeting of Kullu Dussehra Committee, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh stressed on the need to main the dignity of deities at all cost.
"Those carrying the idols of deities on roads for seeking money from the passerby should be brought to book and action should be initiated against them for unnecessarily defaming the culture and also the 'Devtas' by playing with the faith of the people," he said.
Singh said, earlier, local deities were carried on head or in traditional palanquins by 'Kardars' amidst beating of drums by musicians (Bajantris) with their traditional instruments, "but it was sad to see few people in group of two or three sitting on the roadside and in public places, thereby defaming the name of deities and by asking money.
"This is not our tradition and such practise which makes fun of our 'Dev Sanskriti' and lowers the dignity of deities needed to be curbed," he said, adding that immediate steps should be taken to stop it.
The Chief Minister also stressed on the need to promote rural games during the festival and said they should be named as 'Grameen Khel' and made competitive so that rural games in the state may get the required fillip.
"Rural games as Kabaddi, Volleyball would be promoted without disturbing the green carpet of the ground and separate grounds would be made behind 'Dev Sadan' in Kullu for organising the volleyball games in which teams from outside the state were also likely to participate," he said.
