Varanasi: With huge number of devotees expected to gather at the ghats along the Ganga and Varuna river on the last two days of Chhath Puja on Nov 7 and 8, the district adminisration as well as police have made elaborate arrangements to facilitate the devottees.
As part of the preparations, cleansing of the ghats along both the rivers as well as ponds in the city has been completed. Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari has been inspecting the ghats and ponds for the past two days and issuing directives for exemplary arrangements. All senior officials of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) have also been vigilantly overseeing the work.
According to the municipal authorities, the VMC has deployed 3,000 workers to sanitise all 84 ghats along the Ganga and 63 ponds. Furthermore, ponds in newly expanded areas have been cleansed, and silt has been extracted from the ghats. Street lights have been installed on all ghats, illuminating the entire vicinity. Municipal Commissioner Akshat Verma is monitoring the situation online with all officials.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Dushyant Kumar Maurya has been engaged to provide directives to health inspectors for enhanced cleanliness on all ghats and ponds. Maurya along with Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajeev Kumar Rai and chief engineer Moinuddin are supervising arrangements at the ghats. Meanwhile, Additional Municipal Commissioner Vinod Kumar Gupta has been entrusted with the task to verify the street lighting arrangements with his team.
Maurya instructed the municipal staff that after the evening prayers on Nov 7, all ghats should be cleansed overnight to ensure complete sanitisation for the morning prayers on Nov 8. Special provisions are being made for deployment of cleaning staff the same night. The trash skimmers will be utilised to continuously remove the flowers and other offerings floating in the Ganga.
Meanwhile, people of the Kashi have immersed themselves in the four-day Chhath Puja celebration that kicked off on Tuesday with the ‘Nahay Khay' ritual. Dedicated to the Sun god, Chhath Puja is observed primarily by people from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The four-day festivities include Nahay Khay, Kharna, evening Arghya (offering) to the setting Sun, and morning Arghya to the rising Sun.
On the first day of Nahay Khay, devotees clean their homes, bathe and prepare traditional vegetarian meals. This is followed by ‘Kharna' on the second day, and the evening ‘Arghya' on the third day after a daylong fast. The Puja concludes on the fourth day with ‘Arghya' to the rising Sun.
Throughout the festival, devotees observe various traditional rituals like holy bathing, fasting, standing for hours in water, and making offerings to the Sun for prosperity and well-being. The festival is celebrated to thank the Sun god for bestowing blessings on Earth.
On the other hand, city markets are bustling with people crowding various shops. Makeshift stalls selling cane baskets, soop, dagra, dauri, and other Puja items have sprung up in many areas across the city.
Meanwhile, police and NDRF personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents.