Varanasi: The four-day festival of Chhath Puja in city concluded with devotees presenting offerings to the rising sun on Friday morning. Lakhs of worshippers congregated along the banks of the Ganga and Varuna rivers and numerous other water bodies to offer prayers to Sun God.
People immersed themselves in the four-day Chhath Puja celebration that kicked off on Tuesday with the ‘Nahay Khay' ritual. The festivities included Nahay Khay, Kharna, evening ‘Arghya' (offering) to the setting sun, and morning ‘Arghya' to the rising sun. Throughout the festival, devotees observed various traditional rituals like holy bathing, fasting, and making offerings to the sun for prosperity and well-being.
The festival was also celebrated with grandeur and religious fervour at the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW). Thousands of devotees prayed at the holy Surya Sarovar located in the BLW premises, marking the conclusion of their fast.
Meanwhile, in a tragic incident, a 15-year-old boy, Ujala Gaur, drowned while bathing in a pond during Chhath Puja in Hadiyadih village in Chaubepur area on Friday. Ujala, a resident of Naupur of Kerakat police station area in Jaunpur, had come to visit his relative Dharmendra Gaur. He was rescued and taken taken to a private hospital by family members, where he was declared dead.