Devotees offer Chhath prayers in Delhi parks and makeshift ponds

Many of these ghats were frequented by senior ministers, members of Parliament and high-ranking government officials

Thousands of devotees lined up in waist-deep water at the Yamuna ghat near ITO on Sunday evening to offer “arghya” to the Sun God on the occasion of Chhath puja on Sunday.

New Delhi, India - Nov. 19, 2023: Devotees offer prayers on the Sanjay Jheel Park during celebrations of 'Chhath Puja' festival, at Laxmi Bai Nagar, in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, November 19, 2023. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

On the third day of the four-day-long festival, the devotees who were fasting and their families prayed to the setting sun and carried out rituals at the makeshift ponds, the river and the canals covering more than 1,000 locations across the Capital. Monday is the final day of celebrations where offerings will be made to the Sun.

Many of these ghats were frequented by senior ministers, members of Parliament and high-ranking government officials.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the devotees from the Purvanchali community in his electoral constituency New Delhi. He visited the ghats developed at Lakshmi Bai Nagar, East Kidwai Nagar, and Kali Bari and shared a clip of him praying and then interacting with the devotees on his official X handle.

“Along with all my Purvanchali brothers, sisters and mothers of Delhi, I participated in the great festival of folk faith ‘Chhath Puja’, offered Arghya to Lord Surya and prayed to Chhathi Maiya for everyone’s good health, happiness, prosperity and happy life,” Kejriwal posted in Hindi on X.

The Delhi government had constructed 1,000 Chhath ghats this year to facilitate Chhath celebrations in the Capital.

Of the 14.7 million registered voters in Delhi, 4 million constitute people from the Purvanchal regions, who have emerged as a major cultural and political community in the city during the last decade. This has also intensified the celebration of Chhath in public places from just 72 ghats in 2015 to 1,000 ghats in 2023.

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs and ministers marked their presence at the ghats in their constituencies with Atishi visiting ghats in Kalkaji, Govindpuri and West Vinod Nagar. Atishi said that thousands of people participated in the rituals. “Chhath has become one of the biggest festivals, which is no longer restricted to Purvanchalis but now belongs to the entire country. Due to the efforts of the Kejriwal government, our brothers and sisters from Purvanchal don’t have to go far away from their homes to celebrate the festival. They can participate in the puja at a grand scale near their homes” said Atishi.

Earlier in the day, the north-east district police said it reviewed preparations and arrangements for the festival. “To ensure citizens’ safety and convenience, sufficient staff was deployed,” said a statement from the police.

In the run-up to Chhath — celebrated six days after Diwali — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had accused the ruling AAP of poor preparations. BJP MPs also attempted to highlight the high pollution levels and frothing in Yamuna.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) this year deployed ten boats to sprinkle deformers to tackle froth in the Yamuna near Kalindi Kunj. However, many sections in this part of the river were replete with toxic foam on Sunday as well.

Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely had also criticised the government earlier in the week and accused it of “squandering crores” on publicity, but not bothering to clean up the Yamuna. “Thousands of Purvanchalis would be forced to perform Chhath Puja in the polluted Yamuna,” he added.

BJP MPs and party functionaries also participated in celebrations in various areas. Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramveer Singh Bidhuri joined the celebrations at Badarpur, Meethapur, Moladbund, and Jaitpur while MP Manoj Tiwari visited dozens of ghats along the Sonia Vihar-Burari belt. He also sang Chath and Poorvanchali songs in pandals. MP Gautam Gambhir visited the ghats from ITO to Sarita Vihar and greeted devotees.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said: “BJP government in 1994 started setting up Chath ghats near Yamuna as per Purvanchali tradition but it is regrettable that the AAP government has forced devotees to worship at artificial ghats.”