Day after Karva Chauth, broken pots, diyas greet visitors at Sukhna

Part of the lake is looked after by Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited and part of the lake is maintained by the municipal corporation

A day after Karwa Chauth, the Sukhna Lake was found littered with pots and diyas that were used for the rituals on Thursday morning right at the entrance.

Diyas and pots dot the stone parapet at the entrance of Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Thursday morning, a day after Karva Chauth celebrations. (Keshav Singh/HT)

Yogesh Sharma and Shama Sharma, who regularly come for a walk here, pointed out how the pots could be seen lined up on the stone parapet at the entrance itself: “People should be allowed to celebrate the festival at the lake, however, they need to be responsible and should clean up after themselves rather than littering the lake.”

Saying that this had become a yearly occurrence, local area councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said, “It is up to people to not litter after themselves. The lake in Sector 42 has been specially made for religious ceremonies where people could have gone instead.” He added that a ban on Karwa Chauth festivities on the lake is also not possible as it will be hard for the authorities to monitor people bringing even a single diya to the lake.

Part of the lake is looked after by Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) and part of the lake is maintained by the municipal corporation (MC). Chief general Manager (CGM) of CITCO Rakesh Kumar Popli said, “We had asked that the part of the lake in front of Chef Lakeview Hotel be cleaned before opening it in the morning.”

MC medical officer of health (MOH) Dr Amritpal Warring added that sweepers had started cleaning the lake in the morning and by the afternoon it was all tidied up.