Atishi reviews Chhath preparations in Delhi

Delhi government has prepared over 1,000 ghats across the city for the upcoming Chhath festival, which will be celebrated from November 17 to 20. Revenue and water minister Atishi inspected the Chhath ghat at ITO and directed officials to expedite the preparations and complete the work soon. BJP and Congress have raised concerns about the toxic froth in the Yamuna riverbed, with BJP claiming that only 100 ghats were ready till Thursday. The Delhi government has taken measures to control the froth and has also arranged for various facilities and cultural programmes for devotees.

Ahead of the four-day Chhath festival, revenue and water minister Atishi inspected the Chhath ghat at ITO on Friday and assessed the ongoing preparations. The Delhi government has prepared over 1,000 ghats across the city, including those along the Yamuna river bank to facilitate devotees.

New Delhi, India - Nov. 17, 2023: Workers preparations of Chhath Puja ghat at ITO, Vikas Marg, in New Delhi, India, on Friday, November 17, 2023. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Chhath will be celebrated from November 17 to 20 this year. During the two main festival days — Sunday and Monday — devotees will stand in knee-deep water and offer prayers (also called Arag) to the sun and will visit the ghats in huge numbers. On November 19, devotees will worship the setting sun and prayers will be offered during sunrise on November 20.

Atishi said there will be no shortcomings in the preparations for the “Chhath Mahaparv” in Delhi and all MLAs and departments are present at ground zero, following directions from the chief minister. During the inspection, she directed officials to expedite the preparation of the ghat and complete the work soon to avoid last-minute tasks.

“Delhi is home to a large number of people from the Purvanchal region who contribute socially, economically, and culturally to the development of Delhi. Chhath is a very important festival for them. For the past eight years, the Delhi government has been organising the Chhath Mahaparv grandly across Delhi,” the minister added.

Earlier this week, the formation of toxic froth over the riverbed in parts of Delhi, became a political issue with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress saying that devotees will be forced to wade through the toxic water to offer their prayers.

Delhi BJP vice president Dinesh Pratap Singh said that while the Delhi government claimed it made 1,000 ghats, only 100 ghats were ready till Thursday and started work on around 40 more ghats on Friday.

“The Purvanchali Chhath committees have never before seen the kind of corruption as rampant this year,” said Singh.

According to experts, the formation of toxic froth in the Yamuna is an annual phenomenon during winters, indicating high levels of untreated sewage and industrial pollutants in the river’s water.

Officials from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it started spraying defoamers at the Okhla barrage to curb the foam formation on Thursday and will continue the exercise till November 20, along with monitoring the water parameters. Atishi added that 10 boats are spraying the defoamers and dedicated teams have been formed to monitor the situation.

The Delhi government has also arranged ponds, tents, lights, sanitation, security and pooja items. Additionally, cultural programmes will be organised by the Maithili-Bhojpuri Academy at many of the ghats.