CM Kejriwal takes stock of Chhat preparations

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, took stock of the preparations at the Hathi Ghat on the banks of Yamuna ahead of Chhat Puja, for which the Delhi government has declared a public holiday on November 17. Officials took the duo around the ghat which is located near the ITO. Makeshift pandals, sandbanks, floodlights and barricades have been put up across its premises.

The city government had earlier declared Chhat as a gazetted holiday. Until 2013, restricted holidays used to mark Chhat celebrations. The AAP government’s decision also assumes importance considering the closeness between the ruling party and JD(U). Mr Kejriwal had openly backed Nitish Kumar’s candidature as Bihar chief minister, who triumphed in the recently conducted state polls.

Meanwhile, Yamuna ghats are spruced up for the four-day Chhat festival which began on Sunday. The Delhi government and municipal corporations are working in tandem to ready the river banks, including making safety arrangements, for people who will throng the ghats on the last two days of the festival.

The age-old tradition, which pays obeisance to the Sun god, is observed mainly by people from Bihar and eastern UP. People from the two states mark the festival by congregating at nearby riverbanks and water bodies. The national capital has a sizeable population of people hailing from the two states. “We are making all arrangements and preparations are almost complete at the ghats under our jurisdiction. Besides, beautifying and making sanitation arrangements at the ghats, we have also put up mobile dispensaries there,” North Delhi Municipal Corporation director (press and information) Yogendra Singh Mann said.

North Delhi has ghats like Wazirabad Ghat, Ram Ghat and Kudesia Ghat, besides Western Yamuna Canal that crosses at Pitampura. “We have done levelling at the ghats, removed weeds and vegetation growth that sprung up during the monsoon season. Besides, we have carried out fumigation there and stationed mobile toilets,” Mr Mann said.

Arrangements are also being made in ghats in East and South Delhi and both east and south municipal corporations said work was almost complete and mayors and senior officials are now inspecting the ghats. “We have one major ghat — Kalindi Kunj Ghat — under our jurisdiction which attracts huge crowd every year on this festive occasion. We have made sanitation and beautification arrangements there already,” a senior SDMC official said.