Ranchi: With the state government making it clear that adherence to safety norms is a prerequisite in order to take part in Chhath Puja rituals in rivers and lakes, the Ranch Municipal Corporation and the district administration are pulling out all stops to make all the necessary arrangements before devotees throng the water bodies for arghya later this week.
Ranchi mayor Asha Lakra, along with deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayavargiya and other officials, visited more than a dozen ghats on Wednesday and inspected the cleanliness and sanitization work there. “Besides sanitising the ghats with hypochlorite solution, we are installing makeshift changing rooms for the devotees and installing lights around the ghats. In order to avoid accidents, I have asked the officials concerned to earmark deep areas in the water bodies and put up warning boards and barricade those areas so that the devotees cannot venture near them,” Lakra said.
The mayor, who had been pretty vocal about her displeasure at the government for not allowing devotees at the ghats during Chhath, lauded the government for revoking that order. “I am happy that the government took into account the devotees’ sentiments and has now allowed rituals to take place at the ghats. Although the decision came at the eleventh hour for we have very little time left now for sanitising and cleaning the ghats before the first arghya on Friday, we are putting all our manpower to work so that no one faces any problem during the festival,” she said.
On the other hand, the district administration is planning to deploy a large number of police personnel and civil magistrates at the ghats to enforce social distancing. Ranchi SDM Sameera S said, “This year, the number of cops and magistrates present at the ghats will be more than what it was last time. They will be monitor the event 24/7.” She added, “We will soon release an order specifying the dos and don’ts for taking part in the rituals in ghats after consulting the Ranchi police in this regard.”